UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Lebanon on Friday afternoon, the National News Agency reported.Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas represented Prime Minister Najib Mikati and received Ban at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.
In the meantime, a rally was held near Beirut’s ESCWA building against UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Lebanon, denouncing his latest speeches against Syria and the region.
Ban urged the international community ahead of his visit to adopt a united stand in dealing with the revolt in Syria.Ban told the Arabic-language daily An-Nahar that it was essential the international community stand together to address the crisis.
Ban said the UN Security Council must take Assad's behaviour into account and speak in one voice in seeking an end to the crisis.Worth to mention that Russia has repeatedly sided with Assad's regime and earlier this month sent a large naval flotilla to the Syrian port of Tartus in what Damascus said was a show of solidarity.
Hezbollah says U.N.'s Ban not welcome in Lebanon
The head of Hezbollah’s Shura Council Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek said over the weekend that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon Friday, is not welcome.
“The visit of United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon's visit to Beirut is not welcome, neither is the phony [U.N. special envoy Terry] Larsen or the messenger of evil [Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs] Jeffrey Feltman,” Yazbeck was quoted by local media as saying.
UNSCR 1559 was adopted in 2004 and calls for the complete withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah. The latter has defended its possession of arms as the only means to fend off Israeli aggression.
Lebanon's resistance party has said that Ban is biased toward Israel, particularly following the release of Ban's latest report to the Security Council on the implementation of Resolution 1701. In the report, issued in November, Ban criticized Hezbollah as a threat to Lebanon’s stability, and called on the government to hold a national dialogue and work toward a national defense strategy.
Hezbollah responded by accusing Ban of bias toward the west, warning against Western hegemony over the United Nations which, the resistance said, threatened peace and security.
During his visit, the U.N. chief is expected to meet with officials and members of the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon. He is also scheduled to give the opening remarks at a U.N. conference in Beirut on reform and democratic transition in the Arab world.
Despite the apparent conflict of interest between the two sides, Hezbollah and U.N. officials in Lebanon have maintained good relations with U.N. Resident Coordinator for Lebanon Robert Watkins meeting with Hezbollah officials on a regular basis.
source www.dailystar.com.lb
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