Annan pushing diplomacy

In first visit to the Middle East since the war, demands Hezbollah release abducted soldiers, and urges Israel to lift blockade of Lebanon

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

August 29, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - On his first visit to the Middle East since war broke out last month, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanded yesterday that Hezbollah turn over two Israeli soldiers it abducted to the Lebanese government, and he urged Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon.

Annan said both Hezbollah and Israel must fulfill their obligations so a fragile cease-fire that ended 34 days of fighting does not collapse. "I fear the risk is great for a renewal of hostilities," he said.

After meeting with Lebanon's top politicians, including a Hezbollah leader who is a government minister, Annan tried to tour the southern Beirut suburbs that were devastated by weeks of Israeli bombing. But as soon as he arrived in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, Annan's motorcade was surrounded by hundreds of people booing and chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans.

Shouting "Kofi Annan is an agent of the Americans," the crowd held up posters of Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah. Within a few minutes of arriving, Annan cut short his visit and went back into his armored black Mercedes. Dozens of heavily armed Lebanese special forces troops and security agents walked alongside the motorcade as it left the area.

Earlier, at a news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, Annan said Hezbollah must hand over the soldiers to the Lebanese government or a "third party" through the International Red Cross. "We at the United Nations will be prepared to play a role if we are required to do so," he said.

After Hezbollah guerrillas abducted the two men in a cross-border raid on July 12, Israel launched its most intense attack since it invaded Lebanon in 1982. The offensive crippled the country's infrastructure, displaced 1 million people, cut off Lebanon from the world and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, a majority of them civilians. More than 155 Israelis were killed, 118 of them soldiers.

The UN resolution that ended the fighting calls for the "unconditional release" of the two soldiers. But Hezbollah leaders have vowed to keep the hostages until they can exchange them for Lebanese prisoners in Israeli custody.

Annan also urged Israel to comply with a demand in the UN resolution to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, which Israel imposed on the war's first day. The siege has caused shortages of gas, fuel for electricity production and many consumer goods in Lebanon. Annan said he plans to discuss the issue with Israeli leaders when he visits Jerusalem today.

During his 11-day tour of the region, Annan also plans to visit Syria and Iran, Hezbollah's two main backers. He said he would ask Syrian leaders to better police the border with Lebanon to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah.

"It is important that the borders are protected and there are no attempts to rearm," he said. "Lebanon has seen too much conflict. There are too many arms in the country. We don't need any more."

After the cease-fire, some pro-Western members of the Lebanese government tried to move to disarm Hezbollah. But the militia was bolstered by its surprising tenacity, and its ability to inflict heavy casualties on Israeli forces and prevent them from capturing significant territory. That gave Hezbollah new leverage, and its leaders now argue that it must keep its weapons to defend against future Israeli attacks.

The UN chief said Hezbollah can only be disarmed through an internal Lebanese agreement, and not by force.

"I am confident that most Lebanese, if not all Lebanese, would want to see a society free of weapons," he said.

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In first visit to the Middle East since the war, demands Hezbollah release abducted soldiers, and urges Israel to lift blockade of Lebanon

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