BEIRUT, 31 March 2007 — The UN chief yesterday called for the full implementation of a UN Security Council resolution that ended last summer’s war between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israel. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also urged rival Lebanese leaders to engage in dialogue as the only way to end a deepening political crisis and approve an international court to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He met separately with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a major figure in the opposition, and with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who is backed by the parliamentary majority. “I raised the importance of the full implementation of that resolution,” Ban told reporters after his talks with Berri, who is a close ally of Hezbollah.
Ban has criticized both Israel and Lebanon for violating Resolution 1701, noting an increase of Israeli military overflights of its northern neighbor in February and early March. The resolution also calls for a halt in arms shipments to Hezbollah, and demands the “unconditional release” of two Israeli soldiers Hezbollah captured in a cross-border raid, triggering a 34-day war that ended with an Aug. 14 cease-fire. Hezbollah has refused to release the soldiers without negotiations to trade them for Arabs held by Israel.
