UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s remarks to the International Conference

[oberliner]

SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ROME CALLS FOR POLITICAL FRAMEWORK, ECONOMIC AID
TO ADDRESS ‘HORRENDOUS AND DANGEROUS’ SITUATION IN LEBANON

Following are UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s remarks to the International Conference on Lebanon, in Rome, 26 July:

The death and destruction we have witnessed in the past two weeks, including yesterday’s tragic killing of United Nations peacekeepers, compels this Conference to send a strong message, and to speak with one voice. We must say, to the people of Lebanon, to the people of Israel, to people throughout the wider Middle East, that we will do our utmost to help them find a path towards peace.

The situation remains horrendous and dangerous. We need action on three fronts.

First and most urgent, we need an immediate cessation of the hostilities that began on 12 July with Hizbollah’s reckless attack across the Blue Line and the abduction of two Israeli soldiers.

We need a cessation of hostilities because we face a grave humanitarian crisis. The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, has just visited Lebanon, and reports that some 800,000 people are being affected in one way or another, whether through displacement, injury, trauma or other fallout. Meanwhile, rockets continue to fall on Israeli cities, taking lives and instilling deep fear among hundreds of thousands of people. Some 400 Lebanese have been killed, and many thousands wounded. Several dozen Israelis have been killed, and hundreds wounded.

May I ask now that we all stand and observe a minute of silence for those who have died in this conflict. As we honour the dead, we must wonder how many more will fall in the weeks to come. And we must be clear, there remains great potential for further escalation.

Therefore, I call on Hizbollah to stop its deliberate targeting of Israeli population centres.

And I call on Israel to end its bombardments, blockades and ground operations.

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sgsm10578.doc.htm

[AlamoDemoc]

1. Sadly, Mr. Secretary General, United States refuses ceasefire

[DRoseDARs]

2. Translation: "Blah blah blah we will form a commitee to discuss...

...the formation of an agenda outlining possible plans to alternative methods of picking members to seat the commitee that will discuss the formation of an agenda outlining possible plans to alternative methods of stalling for more time so we do not have to do anything meaningful or in a timely manner before this latest round of carnage subsides yet again kind of like Darfur... oh, I should not have mentioned that. We had hoped everyone had forgotten." :shrug: