Zimbabwe News Update: No Prosperity Without Unity; Christmas Cheer isBack

No prosperity without unity: President

Herald Reporter

PRESIDENT Mugabe has called for unity in the inclusive Government for its macro-economic policy designed to turn around the country’s economic fortunes to realise desired results.

This follows the launch of an economic blueprint, the Three-Year Macro-Economic Policy and Budget Framework for 2010-2012, on Wednesday, also known as the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP) II.

In a preface to the 413-page economic policy and budget framework, the President underscored the need to preserve unity in the inclusive Government for the benefit of the nation.

“For this policy framework to succeed, it is of paramount importance that the inclusive Government is preserved and sustained, in the interest of our people whom we serve.

“For it is only through unity of purpose that we can defend the gains of our independence and chart our destiny as an independent and sovereign state,” he said.

President Mugabe said the formation of the inclusive Government in February this year and the launch of STERP as its economic blueprint in March, a number of achievements were made in the economic domain, particularly in achieving some macro-economic stability.

“However, notwithstanding these developments, our economy for the past decade has withstood a number of socio-politico-economic challenges that have not been fully resolved under STERP.

“These challenges are not insurmountable. Hence, the need for great resolve and commitment on the part of Government and the country at large to unite in the face of these challenges,” he said.

The Government’s commitment to reform, President Mugabe said, had managed to stabilise the macro-economic environment.

“However, the challenge in going forward is to anchor sustained growth and development on the macro-economic stability that has been achieved to date.

“This will be done through increased production in the agriculture, mining, manufacturing and other key sectors of the economy,” he said.

President Mugabe said STERP II would build on the macro-economic stability attained under STERP to achieve a robust economy necessary for the socio-economic transformation of the people over the next three years to 2012.

In his foreword, Finance Minister Tendai Biti also called for political will at all levels of Government and a commitment by stakeholders to implement agreed policies and public ownership and effective participation in the implementation of the framework agenda.

“It is my strong conviction that once these ingredients are in place, we will be able to turn around this economy and indeed rebuild and reposition Zimbabwe to its rightful place within the community of nations,” Minister Biti said.

Among the objectives of the Macro-Economic Policy and Budget Framework are: sustaining macro-economic stabilisation and consolidating STERP; support for rapid growth and employment creation and ensuring food security.

It also seeks to restore basic services, encouraging public

and private sector investment, promoting regional integration, restoring basic freedoms and restoring international relations.

A review of STERP, since its launch nine months ago, indicates mixed results with progress in some areas, while there are some outstanding issues and challenges.

Achievements in the past nine months include reduction of inflation to negative levels, removal of price distortions, improved management of public resources, recovery of basic public service provisions, normalisation of financial services, and re-engagement and confidence building with the international community.

Government managed to resuscitate business activities and a subsequent improved supply response.

Some international organisations, among them the International Monetary Fund, have given a nod to a number of sound fundamental economic policies put in place by the inclusive Government.

The policy was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe on Wednesday.

Christmas cheer is back

By Lloyd Gumbo and Vallery Chingono
Zimbabwe Herald

MOST families appear ready for a first-class Christmas feast today, with supermarkets still crowded yesterday, but are going easy on presents and concentrating on practical items like school uniforms and work clothes.

As Zimbabwe climbs out of the economic doldrums, most said they wanted a slap-up Christmas, and reckoned they could afford it, their first for several years.

But most also wanted to get through January and ensure their children went to school. Shops selling luxury items were starting to discount prices yesterday, rather than wait for the January sales.

Even the banks co-operated. Bank queues were negligible yesterday and those wishing to withdraw money could do so very quickly.

The serious spike in cash demand last week, that triggered long queues and limits on withdrawals, is now over, at least until the January pay week.

The only sour note came from bus companies and thieves.

Bus owners were not only keeping the profiteering fares they introduced a week ago, but were unable to meet demand on many routes.

The Mbare Musika long-distance bus terminus was chaotic.

Bus operators increased fares taking advantage of the festive season which saw many people avoiding “expensive” buses for private vehicles thereby exposing themselves to robbers who take advantage of the transport blues and masquerade as Good Samaritans.

Passengers who intended to travel to areas like Chinhoyi, Karoi, Centenary, Guruve and Kariba were still stranded at the terminus around 11am, since there were no buses.

“We arrived here around 5am, but since we arrived only one bus has come to the rank and it’s now uncertain if the buses are coming anymore because we have been waiting for hours and there is no communication from the bus operators,” said a man travelling to Guruve.

At the bus stop along the Harare-Masvi-ngo Road pupularly known as KuMbudzi, travellers were waving down haulage trucks, lorries and pick-up trucks because their fares were “reasonably low”.

“I spent four hours at Mbare (terminus) but there were no buses and besides they were charging very high fares, so I decided to come here and it looks like I won’t be here for long,” said Mr Alois Mbamba who was travelling to Masvingo.

Yesterday, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe embarked on an awareness campaign at Mbare bus terminus to make drivers and passengers value safety during this festive season.

Acting regional traffic safety officer for the northern region Mr Jonah Mhangami said the campaign was meant to equip drivers with knowledge on how to avoid accidents.

At Colcom and Irvine’s there were long queues as people scrambled to buy chicken, pork products, beef and eggs.

People who spoke to The Herald said this year’s Christmas was different from those in recent years because this time shops were full and people had more disposable income.

“Christmas this year is totally different from the recent ones because there is price stability, shops are full and people have some disposable income. I just want to go and see my parents,” said Mr Blessing Mandikonza who was travelling to Nyanga.

In the city, people were running around buying groceries, clothes, toys and other goodies but they bemoaned the delay by banks in dispensing cash.

“We are buying groceries this late because we could not access cash from the banks on time. However, we can at least afford a ‘Christmas basket’ and I am just anxious to go to my rural home and see my relatives after a long time,” Mrs Pretty Njoba said.

School wear shops also enjoyed brisk business with parents buying school uniforms for their children saying they did not want to be affected by the “January disease”

“We are buying uniforms because we are afraid if we go for the holidays without buying uniforms and books for our children we won’t be able to do so in January.

“However, I have decided to spoil my family this holiday as I will be taking them to Victoria Falls because we can now afford to do that,” said Mr Denford Chaora.

Filling stations in the city expressed confidence that they would be able to meet the fuel demand as they had enough reserves.

They said fuel prices were most likely to remain at an average of US$1,18 and US$0,98 per litre for petrol and diesel respectively.

As people were busy shopping, pickpockets have also taken advantage of the situation especially in the downtown area.

On Tuesday, deputy police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka said they had deployed police countrywide to thwart criminal activities.

He said police were gathering intelligence through the police internal security intelligence and surveillance.

Chief Supt Mandipaka also urged people to secure their homes when travelling.

Nestlé saga: Deal reached

Herald Reporter

Nestlé Zimbabwe has been asked to reopen its factory after assurances were given by the Government over the safety of staff and agreement was reached over how milk from Gushungo Dairies will be processed.

In a statement yesterday, Industry and Commerce Minister Professor Welshman Ncube said he had held consultations with Nestlé Zimbabwe, Gushungo Dairies and other “key stakeholders in the dairy sector”.

“As a result of those consultations, the parties have collectively reached an understanding to work together in ensuring that milk produced at Gushungo Dairies is absorbed by the local dairy processors.

“For its part, Government has given its assurance on the safety of staff and management at both Nestlé Zimbabwe and Gushungo Dairies,” said the statement.

While no details of the “understanding” were made public, it appears that milk from Gushungo, which is owned by the First Family, will go into the general pool of milk processed by Dairibord and others and that Nestlé will buy its requirements from that pool.

Minister Ncube said he had been asked to intervene in the dispute by both President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after Nestlé’s Zurich head office said it was temporarily closing its Zimbabwe factory after two managers were questioned by police and the factory was forced to buy a tanker of milk from a “non-contracted” source.

On Wednesday during a Press conference by the three principals to the Global Political Agreement to review the operations of the inclusive Government since its formation early this year, PM Tsvangirai said: “Shutting down the plant is an overreaction that is totally unnecessary,” he said.

Nestlé head office in Zurich had issued a statement saying that it was temporarily closing its Zimbabwe factory “since . . . normal operations and the safety of employees are no longer guaranteed”.

The company said, in its statement through AFP, that on Saturday the factory was visited by Zimbabwean “officials” and police, and forced to accept a tanker of non-contracted milk. Two managers were questioned by police but were released without charge after questioning the same day.

The company said its Zimbabwe subsidiary stopped buying milk from non-contracted farmers in October when normal supplies resumed from Daribord.

It had started buying direct in February this year as a temporary measure to ensure food supplies when Dairibord could no longer pay farmers but had then returned to its normal system.

However, Nestlé had been under pressure from Western activists to stop buying milk from Gushungo Dairy Estates, a business owned by the First Family and which was supplying up to 15 percent of the factory’s milk, and from at least seven other new farmers.

The reason of switching back to Dairibord was not accepted by Zimbabwean pressure groups, who saw the move as an imposition of sanctions on the eight new farmers.

Govt makes strides in health provision

Herald Reporter

THE year comes to an end on a positive note after the health delivery system has begun showing signs of recovery.

Beginning the year at its lowest ebb that was punctuated by the menacing cholera epidemic, shortage of drugs and absenteeism by health professionals who could not afford to commute to and from work, the situation has started normalising.

Various programmes that have been instituted by inclusive Government have started to realise positive gains that need to be sustained in the following year.

The Health Ministry is one of the ministries that got a new leadership comprising Minister Henry Madzorera, Deputy Minister Douglas Mombeshora and Secretary Dr Gerald Gwinji but the transition did not affect operations in the sector.

The inclusive Government’s 100-day plan saw the introduction of the targeted approaches aimed at refurbishing all health institutions in the country.

Under the programme health institutions that had either closed or working far below capacity where targeted for revival.

The programme saw central hospitals ,such as the Harare Central Hospital, reopening their doors to the public.

Although the hospital is still to regain its status as one of the leading referral centres it has shown that, given adequate funds, it can retain its lost glory.

Harare Hospital has managed to reopen the children’s hospital and maternity section that had been closed due to shortage of essential drugs and accessories.

The hospital has also seen the refurbishment of the laundry equipment that had been defunct for the past three years.

The refurbishment exercises also helped in improving operations at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Mutare Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospital.

Owing to the positive improvements at the targeted institutions, Government has vowed to continue with the approach for the 2010 financial year. Health financing for the year 2009 was on the positive side as Government, for the first time honoured, its global obligation to allocate 15 percent of the national budget towards the health sector.

Government did not only honour the obligation but surpassed it by 0,7 percent —– a development hailed by health professionals.

This commitment by the Government is being carried forward into 2010 as evidenced by the 12,7 percent allocation towards the ministry.

Although the allocation is slightly below the United Nations 15 percent target, it is, however, double compared to the US$121 million that the ministry received in 2009.

Secretary-General expresses hope that Israel will allow more items to enter Gaza

After Israel’s announcement that it will allow glass into Gaza following United Nations requests to repair homes damaged during last year’s fighting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced hope that this will pave the way for other much-needed materials to enter the area.

Centrica feels wind in its sails after farm disposal

Peter Stiff: Market report

Skegness may be bracing, but perhaps it was that very quality that allowed Centrica to sell half a wind farm only five miles off the coast of the Lincolnshire seaside resort yesterday.
Shares in the British Gas owner rose 3.2p to 276.4p after it said that it had sold a 50 per cent stake in the 270-megawatt offshore wind farm to Dong Energy and Siemens Project Ventures for £50 million.
The two European groups will also reimburse Centrica for half of the development costs incurred to date. The total investment in the project is expected to be about £750 million, with Centrica’s share being £375 million. Construction of the wind farm is planned to start in 2010, with first power expected in the second half of 2012.
As a result of the deal, the project will use new wind turbines, which are said to be more powerful. Centrica will continue to lead the project and its British Gas business will take 75 per cent of the wind farm’s electricity production.

Dong, which is an experienced player in offshore wind projects, has also agreed to sell a 25.1 per cent stake in its 367MW Walney offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea to Scottish & Southern Energy, up 2p at £11.47, for £39 million.
Overall, the FTSE 100’s so-called Santa Claus Rally continued in earnest, with the blue-chip index briefly trading above its highest level in more than a year, before falling back in the afternoon after disappointing American new home sales data. It closed 43.72 points up at 5,372.38 after another day of weak volumes. The market will open for half a day today before closing for Christmas.
The mining sector was the biggest driver of the gains, responsible for eight of the index’s top ten risers, amid higher metal prices. Copper, for instance, rose nearly 2 per cent ahead of a strike in Chile, one of the world’s top miners of the metal. There was also speculation of increased demand from China and the United States.
Eurasian Natural Resources was the biggest gainer, climbing 33p to 901p. Xstrata rose 29½p to £10.71½ and Rio Tinto was up 80p at £32.96. Sentiment towards the sector was also buoyed after Glencore, the Swiss commodity trader, signalled that it was likely to seek an initial public offering that would value it at $35 billion.
Oil groups such as Royal Dutch Shell, up 29p to £18.97½, and BP, up 6.8p at 604.3p, also gained on the back of stronger oil prices, which rose after inventory data showed that crude oil stocks fell much more than expected last week. However, Tullow Oil fell 11p to £12.69, despite an upbeat drilling update.
BT Group was one of the biggest fallers, ending the day down 4.3p at 137½p, as the telecoms group traded without rights to its latest dividend.
In the FTSE 250, Premier Oil fell 11p to £10.79 after it plugged and abandoned a well in Vietnam after failing to find significant hydrocarbons.
BSS also slid, closing 2p down at 238p, after Goldman Sachs revised down its earnings estimates for next year and 2011, citing pressure on margins in its domestic and specialist division.
• New York: Disappointing data on new home sales kept shares largely flat on Wall Street. At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was 1.51 points up at 10,466.44.

Sudan’s troubled Darfur region to host national school competition with UN help

The United Nations is providing logistics, security and equipment to the Sudanese Government for its annual National School Competition, bringing together over 7,000 secondary school students from all 25 states in the country’s war-torn Darfur region.

Ban welcomes approval of UN budget for next two years

The General Assembly today approved a budget of $5.16 billion for the 2010-2011 period, in a move immediately welcomed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Plants and animals race for survival as climate change creeps across the globe

Lowland tropics, mangroves and deserts at greater risk than mountainous areas as global warming spreads, study finds

David Adam
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 December 2009 18.20 GMT

Global warming creeps across the world at a speed of a quarter of a mile each year, according to a new study that highlights the problems that rising temperatures pose to plants and animals. Species that can tolerate only a narrow range of temperatures will need to move as quickly if they are to survive. Wildlife in lowland tropics, mangroves and desert areas are at greater risk than species in mountainous areas, the study suggests.
“These are the conditions that will set the stage, whether species move or cope in place,” said Chris Field, director of the department of global ecology at the Carnegie Institution in the US, who worked on the project. “Expressed as velocities, climate change projections connect directly to survival prospects for plants and animals.”
The study, by scientists at the Carnegie Institution, Stanford University, the California Academy of Sciences, and the University of California, Berkeley, combined information on current and projected future climate to calculate a “temperature velocity” for different parts of the world.
They found that mountainous areas will have the lowest velocity of temperature change, meaning that animals will not need to move very far to stay in the temperature range of their natural habitat. However, much larger geographic displacements are required in flatter areas such as flooded grasslands, mangroves and deserts, in order for animals to keep pace with their climate zone. The researchers also found that most currently protected areas are not big enough to accommodate the displacements required.
Healy Hamilton, director of the centre for applied biodiversity informatics at the California Academy of Sciences, said: “One of the most powerful aspects of this data is that it allows us to evaluate how our current protected area network will perform as we attempt to conserve biodiversity in the face of global climate change.”
He added: “When we look at residence times for protected areas, which we define as the amount of time it will take current climate conditions to move across and out of a given protected area, only 8% of our current protected areas have residence times of more than 100 years. If we want to improve these numbers, we need to both reduce our carbon emissions and work quickly towards expanding and connecting our global network of protected areas.”
The study found that global warming would have the lowest velocities in tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, where it would move at about 80 metres a year, and montane grasslands and shrublands - a biome with grass and shrubs at high elevations - with a projected velocity of about 110 metres each year.
Global warming is expected to sweep more quickly across flatter areas, such as mangrove swamps and flooded grasslands and savannas, where it could have velocities above 1km a year. Across the world, the average velocity is 420 metres each year. The results are published in the journal Nature.
Wildlife in areas with low projected climate change velocities are not necessarily better protected, the scientists point out. Habitats such as broadleaf forests are often small and fragmented, which makes it harder for species to move.
The study examines the movement of climate zones, not species, the scientists stress, which means it is difficult to predict what the impacts may be on individual trees, insects and animals. Some are more tolerant to changing temperature than others, and the movement of species can be difficult to track. While trees are estimated to have spread northwards through a warming Europe after the end of the last ice age at a speed of about 1km per year, this could be down to dormant seeds reseeding the landscape, which would not be possible if species are forced to shift to new territories.
The scientists say that global warming will cause temperatures to change so rapidly that almost a third of the globe could see climate velocities higher than even the most optimistic estimates of plant migration speeds.
Some plants and animals may have to be physically moved by humans to help them cope, the scientists say, while protected areas must also be enlarged and joined together.

Pachauri: Copenhagen a Good Outcome

By SUNIL RAGHU
NEW DELHI –The climate change accord reached at the Copenhagen summit is a good outcome but is inadequate to combat global warming, the head of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said Wednesday.
R.K. Pachauri–also the director general of India’s The Energy and Resources Institute, or TERI — told reporters that the accord “provides the foundation on which we can build upon for emission reduction.”
However, the pact doesn’t specify the level to which developed nations will have to cut their emissions by 2020, he said at a TERI event on the implications of the Copenhagen accord and sustainable development.
The two-week long United Nations climate change conference, which ended last week in the Danish capital, resulted in a U.S.-brokered agreement that sets a commitment to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius. The pact didn’t spell out emission reduction goals for 2020 or 2050, which is key to limiting the rise in global temperatures.
“Global emissions must peak no later than 2015,” said Mr. Pachauri, chairman of the UN panel which along with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore had won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for spreading awareness about climate change.
“If we deviate from the optimum path, then the human impact on climate change would be far too serious,” he said, adding that the cost of not maintaining the two degree Celsius limit on the increase in Earth’s temperature would be too high.
The agreement was struck at the last minute between the U.S. and developing countries China, Brazil, India and South Africa after several days of wrangling.
Mr. Pachauri said the emergence of the BASIC group–the term given to the four fast-growing developing nations–is one of the significant events of Copenhagen.
Despite some differences within the BASIC group on certain issues, developed nations will not be able to ignore these countries, Mr. Pachauri said.
“Whatever agreement happens in Mexico in 2010 will necessarily have to deal with the power of this group,” he added.
The next climate change summit is scheduled to be held in Mexico City in December 2010.
Commenting on India’s climate change stand, Mr. Pachauri said India must not give the impression of being selfish and must work together with small island nations and underdeveloped African countries.
He favored protecting the general provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 global-warming accord that doesn’t require developing nations, including India and China, to make cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol also entitles poor countries to receive aid from rich nations to adopt clean energy technologies.
Mr. Pachauri said there was some apprehension during the Copengahen summit that developed countries were trying to pass on the burden of mitigating climate change to the developing nations.
He said a binding agreement to cut emissions would have been adequate to fight global warming, while developed countries should have committed the finances they are willing to part with.
Write to Sunil Raghu at Sunil.Raghu@dowjones.com

UN envoy extends seasonal wishes to Iraqi Christians amid fresh tensions

The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today issued seasonal wishes to the country's Christians and to all Iraqis amid fears of a surge in violence targeting the country's Christian population.

Why do Arabs Migrate to the West?

UN Resolution 1559 & The Axis Of Evil Thugs

UN Resolution 1559 & The Axis Of Evil Thugs
By Elias Bejjani*

December 24/09

Apparently the Stalinist Syrian Baathist rulers are not yet able to swallow and digest the bitter fact that their savage and oppressive occupational army was forced to withdraw from neighboring Lebanon in 2005 with disgrace and humiliation.

Going back to 2004, the UN Security Council issued on September 02/04 its first benchmark pro- Lebanon UN resolution 1559, in a bid to put an end to Syria’s occupation of its neighboring country, Lebanon, and stop its oppression of the Lebanese people.

The resolution strongly called for the withdrawal of all foreign armies (Syrians and Israelis) from Lebanon and reiterated the council’s steadfast support for reclaiming the country’s independence, sovereignty, freedoms, and democracy.

Article seven of the resolution stated verbatim: “Declares its support for a free and fair electoral process in Lebanon’s upcoming presidential election conducted according to Lebanese constitutional rules devised without foreign interference or influence”.

The Syrian president dictator Bachar Al Assad defied the resolution and forced the Lebanese parliament members through terrorism, intimidation and criminal means to amend the country’s constitution that limits the president’s presence in office for one term only. The parliament succumbed to Assad’s threats and extended the presidency term for three more years for the subservient handpicked Lebanese-Syrian president Emile Lahoud.

On the 14th of February, 2005, Lebanon’s Sunni Prime Minister Raffic Al Hariri was assassinated when explosives equivalent to around 1000 kg of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove past the St. George Hotel in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The investigation into his assassination by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is still ongoing and is currently led by the independent investigator, Daniel Bellemare. In its first two reports, UNIIIC indicated that the Syrian government might be linked to the assassination.

Hariri’s killing led to massive political change in Lebanon, including the uprising (intifada) of the Cedar Revolution and the withdrawal of Syrian troops. On The 26th of April, 2005, Syria formally notified the United Nations that it had withdrawn all of its troops, military assets and intelligence apparatus from Lebanon

Syrian rulers taking advantage of the Obama administration’s Middle East openness, and of a recent Syrian-Saudi rapprochement, waged an extensive and fierce campaign in the United Nations, Arab countries and Lebanon aiming to annul the UN Resolution that forced them to withdraw from Lebanon, alleging they had implemented all articles related to them. Syria informed the Lebanese government officially of its request.

Lebanon’s pro- Hezbollah foreign minister, Ali al-Shami, has informed ambassadors accredited in Lebanon that 1559 is “dead.” Well-informed sources said Shami, who was part of the delegation that accompanied President Michel Suleiman to Washington, argued that the Hezbollah arms issue is slated for discussion during all-party talks. Shami stressed that the problem was the ongoing Israeli air, sea and land violations against Lebanon. (Al-Hayat Daily & Naharnet 18/12/09) .

The terrorist Hezbollah’s International Relations Officer, Ammar Mousawi, said on 18/12/09 that UN Security Council resolution 1559 is “meaningless.” “It is being exploited in an effort to impose a trusteeship on Lebanon,” Moussawi believed. “No one has the right to exercise the role of the guardian of Lebanon because the issue of weapons will be discussed in the framework of the defense strategy,” he added. (Naharnet, 18/12/ 09)

On 20/12/09 Syria asked for the dismissal of UN Secretary-General’s envoy on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559, Terje Roed-Larsen, for allegedly making secret visits to Israel to incite the Jewish state against Damascus and oppose the withdrawal from the northern part of the village of Ghajar.

The Syrian mission’s third secretary in New York, Yasar Diab, told the General Assembly’s fifth committee on administrative and budgetary affairs that Roed-Larsen had written two reports this year on the implementation of 1559 without making any visits to Beirut. On the other hand, he has visited Israel several times. Diab accused the envoy of implementing a “suspicious personal agenda” that has nothing to do with his mission. He also said that Roed-Larsen is violating the UN Charter by interfering in Lebanese-Syrian affairs such as border demarcation.

Diab reiterated that Damascus has implemented 1559’s provisions by withdrawing its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanese territories. He said 1559’s remaining articles were a Lebanese issue. The Syrian envoy also criticized the UN for considering Roed-Larsen responsible for the implementation of resolution 1680. The UN General-Secretariat has previously noted that Roed-Larsen’s mandate derives not only from 1559 but also from subsequent related resolutions, including 1680 and 1701. Diab finally called for the annulment of a clause in the report on the apportionment of the UN envoy’s expenses. The clause invites Roed-Larsen to encourage member states to implement resolution 1680.

In this context the pro-Syrian Lebanese President Michele Suleiman echoed Syria’s request to President Obama and to all his top administration officials during an official visit to the United States earlier this month. Suleiman alleged that Hezbollah is a resistance party and not a terrorist organization and that its members are Lebanese and hold portfolios in the new Hariri national unity government. He alleged too that the only article of the UN resolution 1559 that is not yet implemented addresses Hezbollah’s weaponry and that he personally is leading a national comprehensive dialogue to tackle this matter.
Reliable US reports stated that Obama’s administration did not see eye to eye with Suleiman’s requests, while president Obama stressed the importance of the implementation of all UN resolutions related to Lebanon, including 1559 and 17701.

Dr Walid Phares, advisor to the US House Caucus on Counter Terrorism called Syria and Lebanon’s request to “cancel” Security Council resolution 1559 as a move against international law and traditions. Their rhetoric aims at intimidating the Lebanese politicians and people. He stated that legally no Government, including permanent members of the Security Council can annul a Security Council Resolution. Only that UN body has the right to do so, but it has never annulled any resolutions since the launching of the UN. Phares in his Christmas and New Year message to the Lebanese people assured them that the free world and the Lebanese Diaspora supports strongly their cause of freedom and assured them that a better future awaits them. He urged them to produce new types of efficient politicians or change the behavior of the current ones due to the fact that these politicians have committed too many strategic mistakes since 2005, the worst being legitimizing Hezbollah’s weapons in the new Hariri Government’s ministerial statement.”

Lebanese International Law Professor Chafic Al-Masri has said that neither Lebanon nor any other country whether a permanent or a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has the right to delete international resolutions, the Al-Rai Kuwaiti newspaper reported Saturday. “The UNSC can only impose, remind of, or neglect the resolutions and it is the only side that has the jurisdictions to modify UN resolutions,” he said. “Lebanon can demand the UNSC that the item on Hezbollah arms in UN resolution 1559 is resolved by the Lebanese themselves but it cannot request deleting it,” he added. “UN resolution 1701 stated in its introduction that it is based on all previous resolutions concerning Lebanon including resolution 1559. Thus, it is illogical that Lebanon holds to all items of resolution 1701 and asks for deleting part of resolution 1559 simultaneously,” he added. The pan-Arab Ash-Shaq Al-Awsat quoted a ministerial source in an interview published Saturday that he doubts the existence of a possibility to delete resolution 1559, but noted that some of its items were considered as practically annulled UN resolution 1559 which was issued by UNSC in 2004 demanded the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon and the removal of militias’ arms in Lebanon including those of Hezbollah and Palestinians outside the camps. UN resolution 1701 which was issued in 2006 to end the July war between Hezbollah and Israel demanded ending all military presence south of the Litani River in south Lebanon and respecting the blue line on behalf of Lebanon and Israel. (19/12/09, Source: Al Rai)

Nicole Shampaine, US Director of the Department of State’s Near East Affairs Bureau Office for Egypt and the Levant, stressed on 19/12/09 that Washington strongly supports the full implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions related to Lebanon, including resolutions 1559 and 1701. In an interview with al-Rai Kuwaiti daily, Shampaine said that the US will continue to offer strong support for the institutions of the Lebanese state, including the Lebanese army. The US diplomat stressed that a strong, prosperous, and democratic Lebanon was in the interest of the region and the international community.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero has said on 20/12/09 that any UN Security Council resolution remains valid as long as the world body hasn’t adopted another resolution to annul it. Valero told al-Balad daily in remarks published on Sunday that Syria and Lebanon should agree on implementing the articles of Security Council resolution 1559.


Valero’s comment came in response to Syria’s request to annul 1559. Another source told the newspaper that a resolution cannot be annulled without the consensus of the major powers that have Security Council seats. However, Lebanese diplomatic sources told Ad-Diyar daily that 1559 does not exist anymore.

Meanwhile UN resolution 1559 that was issued by the Security Council on September 02/04 is comprised of 12 articles as shown below. Only article five was fulfilled after the election of General Michel Suleiman as president:
1-”Reiterating its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally territorially recognized borders,
2-”Noting the determination of Lebanon to ensure the withdrawal of all non-Lebanese forces from Lebanon,
3-”Gravely concerned at the continued presence of armed militias in Lebanon, which prevent the Lebanese government from exercising its full sovereignty over all Lebanese territory,
4-”Reaffirming the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory,
5-”Mindful of the upcoming Lebanese presidential elections and underlining the importance of free and fair elections according to Lebanese constitutional rules devised without foreign interference or influence,
6- Reaffirms its call for the strict respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon throughout Lebanon;
7- Calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon;
8- Calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias;
9- Supports the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory;
10- Declares its support for a free and fair electoral process in Lebanon’s upcoming presidential election conducted according to Lebanese constitutional rules devised without foreign interference or influence;
11- Calls upon all parties concerned to cooperate fully and urgently with the Security Council for the full implementation of this and all relevant resolutions concerning the restoration of the territorial integrity, full sovereignty, and political independence of Lebanon;
12-Requests that the Secretary-General report to the Security Council within thirty days on the implementation by the parties of this resolution and decides to remain actively seized of this matter.”

The most important articles of the resolution have not been implemented yet as shown below:

The militias (Hezbollah, Amal Movement, SSNP Party (Syrian Social Nationalist Party), Baath Party, and several Palestinian armed factions) have not been dismantled or disarmed.

The Israelis still occupy the Shabaa farms, Ghajar village and a few hills in south Lebanon.

The Syrian army did not complete its withdrawal and still holds on to four military bases under the camouflage of Palestinian militias, one near the capital Beirut (Naeme) and three in the Bekaa valley adjacent to its borders (Helwa, Kosaea, Sultan Yacoub) .

The Lebanese government does not have control of or authority in many regions of the country, including 13 Palestinian refugee camps and Hezbollah’s mini state.

The Syrian-Lebanese borders have not yet been demarcated and Syria still officially and openly facilitates the transfer of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah.

We call on the USA to take into consideration that Lebanon is practically still an occupied country and that the terrorist Hezbollah, Syria’s and Iran’s militant proxy, totally controls the Lebanese government, as well as most of the country’s civil and armed institutions.

We call on the Obama administration to maintain the USA’s tough anti -terrorism stance and to continue to strongly honor and support the UN resolutions related to Lebanon until Lebanon becomes completely free from armed militias, Syrian occupation and terrorism organizations, and to fully abide by the articles of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SALSRA) that the Congress passed into law on December 12, 2003.

This act calls for the end of Syrian support for terrorism, the end of Syria’s presence in Lebanon, to stop Syria’s development of WMDs, to cease Syria’s illegal importation of Iraqi oil and to end illegal shipments of military items to anti-US forces in Iraq.


*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
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