Archive for December, 2011

Defence minister: UNIFIL will stay; we know who fired rockets

Defence Minister Fayez Ghosn does not seem worried over the security situation in Lebanon in general and in the south in particular, as he affirms in front of his visitors that UNIFIL will stay and that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will not replace it, and that coordination with the Resistance is at its highest levels and Lebanese security agencies are doing their duties to the fullest across Lebanon, and therefore there is no fear for stability in Lebanon, wrote the daily As Safir’s Ghassan Rifi on Monday.

Speaking to As Safir, Ghosn explained, “We know who is making and launching the rockets, who is manufacturing the explosives, and who is destabilising the south and their affiliations.” He revealed that the Lebanese authorities have reached to advanced leads through the constant investigations, pointing out that these leads cannot be revealed to the public before becoming “ripe.”

Ghosn explained that UNIFIL has internal arrangements which it coordinates with its troop-contributing countries, taking into consideration political, economic, and financial considerations. “Based on these considerations the troops are increased in number or downsized,” he said. He confirmed that these issues are not related to a political status quo or to security developments.

“What matters in this context is that we respect international resolutions, including United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, and that the LAF is deployed intensively and cooperate with UNIFIL in all matters, namely the security issue,” he said.

“We will not hesitate to make everything possible to make UNIFIL comfortable so that it can fully carry out its responsibilities,” added Ghosn.

The defence minister affirmed that the issue of LAF replacing UNIFIL is not on the table, stressing that UNIFIL will stay and that all the ambassadors and UN envoys that he meets discuss with him further cooperation with UNIFIL.

Ghosn stressed that there is full coordination with the resistance in the south, pointing out that the resistance does not detract from the existence of the state.

As for fears over a possible regional war, Ghosn said: “Despite the fact that we are witnessing a tense situation in all countries, it is not necessary to reach the limits of a flare up.”