PRESS BRIEFING BY OUTGOING LEBANON FORCE COMMANDER

PRESS BRIEFING BY OUTGOING LEBANON FORCE COMMANDER

Aware of the current tensions and potential for escalation in southern Lebanon -– “the toughest neighbourhood in the world” -- the outgoing military commander of the United Nations force monitoring the situation there said today much more work was needed to ensure that the troubled region moved from fragile stability towards lasting peace and security.

Briefing correspondents at Headquarters this afternoon, Major General Lalit Mohan Tewari of India described his tenure as head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as “challenging”, admitting, “with tongue in cheek”, that he was leaving the dynamics of the situation along the so-called Blue Line –- which marks the Lebanon/Israel border -- much as he had found it some two and a half years ago.  Major General Alain Pellegrini of France will soon take over as the new Commander of the 2,000-strong Force.

Major General Tewari stressed that what modicum of success the mission had achieved under his own watch had primarily been due to the “great support of the Government of Lebanon and the Lebanese parties on the ground”.  Responding to a question, he added that those groups were united behind the Lebanese Government’s efforts to successfully reintegrate formerly occupied areas into the country.

Recounting some of UNIFIL’s successes, he said that in 2000 the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had withdrawn from Lebanon and, since then, the mission had been able to drawn down its troop strength from 5,600 to 2,000.  The Force continued to work closely with all the parties, trying to adapt to and even help shape the evolving political and strategic scenario on the ground pending a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the wider Middle East.  Still, the job of the United Nations was to remain impartial and ensure that the parties continued live up to their obligations, he said, pointing to his greying hair to show just how tough that job was.

He reiterated that the cyclical nature of the situation –- with intermittent periods of relative calm followed by heightened tension or violence –- was pretty much the same as when he had taken up his post in 2001.  In his opinion, tensions were currently “palpably high”, particularly in light of Israel’s persistent violations of Lebanese airspace.  Renewed violence in the Shab’a farms area, and the discovery of roadside explosive devices planted along the Blue Line adjacent to IDF patrol routes on several occasions, were also causes for concern.

There was posturing and gamesmanship on all sides, he said, adding that “everybody is trying to position themselves in a place of advantage”.  In the meantime, what UNIFIL was trying to do, and had had some degree of success at, was to open real-time communications with all the parties.  “We have instant contact”, he said, “and with very good observation on the ground, when an event takes place, we can prevent escalation by opening up a dialogue very quickly.”  Incidents would continue to take place along the Blue Line, but he believed that neither the Lebanese Government, nor the IDF were keen to see the situation escalate.

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