Downing Street Says » Middle East

Asked if the Prime Minister was aware of the damage happening to British interests in the Middle East by the Prime Minister not appearing to call for a ceasefire, even if in practice, no-one would follow it, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister had made clear from the beginning that he wanted the conflict to end. What people appeared to want him to do, however, was to call for a unilateral ceasefire. That might make people feel good for a few hours, but not only was it unlikely to have any impact, but also, a quick-fix solution would not deliver a sustainable peace in the Middle East. What we had to do was to go back to where Kofi Annan started from yesterday, which was a recognition that this problem did not start with Israel, but rather, it had started with unprovoked attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah. The central problem we had was that we had two groups, Hezbollah and Hamas, who whilst they were elected, did not abide by democratic standards. Not only did they maintain militias, but they used them irrespective of the views of others, and the case of Lebanon, irrespective of the view of the vast majority of the government, even though they were actually part of that government. It did seem to be a very familiar issue in that in 1982, Sinn Fein were first elected, but it was not until the IRA called the final ceasefire in 1998 that Sinn Fein became part of the political process that led to the Good Friday agreement.

Asked again about British interests, and that years of work by British diplomats would be undone, and the Prime Minister could do what Kofi Annan had done by calling for a ceasefire, and the Archbishop of Canterbury urging the Government to back the UN’s call for a ceasefire, the PMOS said that the journalist was ignoring the fact that the Prime Minister had called for an end to conflict, and he had negotiated a G8 statement which called for an end to the conflict. The key question was that whenever we signed up to a UN resolution such as 1559, did we mean it? What 1559 called for was for militias in Lebanon to be disarmed. What the Middle East roadmap called for was for Hamas to not only recognise Israel, and that it had to be part of the two-state solution, but also there could only be one authority. The PMOS asked: did we mean that, or did we not, or were we more interested in rhetoric, rather than reality?

Put that it was therefore OK for the Prime Minister to make a statement on domestic politics which generated a positive headline, but it was not OK when it came to British interests in the region, the PMOS asked in what way was it in the interests of the Middle East to pretend that by calling for a unilateral ceasefire wouldo help the situation?

Put that it could be an appeal to both sides, with Britain appearing to call on both sides to stop fighting, the PMOS said that Britain had appealed right from the start of this conflict for an end to it. However, people had to recognise that it had to be done in a way that would not only have some impact in reality, but also, would be sustainable. The only way that was going to be sustainable was if we meant what we said when we signed up to resolution 1559.

Asked what we said to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s remarks today regarding the Government supporting the UN in seeking a ceasefire, the PMOS replied that we supported the UN in calling for an end to the conflict on all sides. That was why we had put forward, and why Kofi Annan had believed it was a good idea, the proposal for a stabilisation force. The PMOS said that this was not going to end as long as Hezbollah was firing rockets into Israel, and as long as soldiers were kidnapped and not released.

Asked about reports regarding a split between Downing Street and the FCO, the PMOS said that there was no split. What we were all united in was seeking a sustainable peace, and a peace in which the paramilitaries’ tails did not wag the democratic dog. It also needed to be one in which the elected Lebanese government was able to exercise its sovereignty throughout all of Lebanon, and as 1559 had set out, in which Hamas recognised what was agreed in the roadmap, which was that armed militias should not be allowed into Israel.

Asked if the Prime Minister believed to date that Israel’s actions were proportionate, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister had always said that Israel’s actions should be proportionate, and as he had said all week, he was not going to give a running commentary of what Israel did or did not do. There would not be a sustainable peace if only one side was concentrated on. A unilateral ceasefire was not going to deliver a long term peace. The PMOS asked: why had we got this problem? Hamas had seized and kidnapped soldiers, they had killed others and refused to release them, and Hamas supported suicide bombings into Israel. Hezbollah ignored the wishes of the majority of the Lebanese government and fired rockets into Israel, and kidnapped and killed Israeli soldiers. That was the source of the problem, and 1559 recognised that.

Asked about the other side which had said not calling for a ceasefire was allowing Israel to continue its military action to drive Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, the PMOS said that we had made it clear from the beginning when we negotiated the G8 statement, that Israel should show restraint and avoid civilian casualties. Equally, however, if people looked at the comments of the Hezbollah leader, the person who was responsible for the rockets going into Israel, it was clear that he was not showing any signs of wanting this conflict to end, or of recognising that Israel did have a right to security. The PMOS said that we needed not be unilateralist in this, but rather, we needed to recognise that it was only going to be possible to move forward whenever there was a genuine prospect of peace on both sides.

Asked what the Prime Minister’s thoughts were about people like Omar Sheik Bakri Mohammed returning to Britain as part of the humanitarian evacuation, the PMOS replied that he was the subject of an exclusion order and that would be implemented.

Asked if the Prime Minister had any view on the possibility of an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, and also, what the progress of the British evacuation was, the PMOS replied that in terms of Israeli operations, he was not going to give a running commentary on it. In terms of the evacuation, we had now evacuated around 3000 people thanks to the magnificent efforts of the Royal Navy. That included 1700 yesterday. The PMOS said that 30 British citizens left on a UN ferry going from the south of Lebanon, and there were some 28 others as part of a bus convoy which was on its way to Beirut. In terms of others in the south, we were very much on the case, but there will be further evacuations from Beirut today on the frigate HMS St. Alban’s as well as a ferry chartered from Greece, the NV Alkioni, which was at the quayside in Beirut.

Asked how many British nationals were left in Lebanon, the PMOS said that there would be some British nationals who would choose to stay in Lebanon, as that was their right to do so.

Asked why we wouldn’t say whether the Israeli actions were proportionate, the PMOS replied that rather than rhetoric, what was important was that we focused on where we believed we could make a difference. We believed that we could make a difference by putting together a diplomatic process that would not only bring about a cessation of the conflict on all sides, because it put in place the conditions best to do so, but also, it would result in a sustainable, long lasting, durable peace settlement which addressed the underlying causes. What people had to ask was what the best way to bring that about? Was the best way shouting from the sidelines, or was it to quietly, behind the scenes, get on with the diplomatic work? That was what we would do.

3 Comments »

Um, no; what’s IMPORTANT is to stop people DYING, despite the fact that they are unimportant Ragheads in your eyes, you unfeeling bastard. And if that means swallowing your diplomatic pride and telling the truth, then so be it. We won’t hold our breath, mind.
Comment by SmokeNMirrors — 21 Jul 2006 on 9:04 pm | Link
‘Asked why we wouldn’t say whether the Israeli actions were proportionate, the PMOS replied that rather than rhetoric, what was important was that we focused on where we believed we could make a difference.’

Have a read at this and see what a difference you, your Washington mentors and their Israeli surrogates are making:

<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1217951,00.html?cnn=yes">http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1217951,00.html?cnn=yes</a>
Comment by Mike — 22 Jul 2006 on 10:53 am | Link
Robert Fisk on the rape of Lebanon. Real reporting.

<a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14100.htm">http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14100.htm</a>
Comment by Thomasz — 22 Jul 2006 on 7:05 pm | Link

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» Friday, July 21, 2006

Middle East

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