Arabia on line report:
Syria warns UN not to disarm Hizbollah 
  

"The Hizbollah is a major player in Lebanese resistance and it is not the role of the UN to
disarm it..." Syria's Foreign Minister has said. 
 
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak should "extend the hand of peace instead of making threats."  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
May 26, 2000, 04:53 PM
BEIRUT (Agencies) - Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shara warned the United Nations on
Friday not to try to disarm Hizbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, where he said Lebanese
police would uphold law and order following the sudden pullout this week of Israeli
occupation troops from the zone.
"The Hizbollah is a major player in Lebanese resistance and it is not the role of the UN to
disarm it because it is not a militia but a movement of resistance against occupation," said
Shara in a press conference during an informal meeting of ministers from EU and
Mediterranean nations.

"I have discovered through my contacts with the Lebanese government that it intends sending
police forces to make sure law and order is respected" in south Lebanon, he said.

Shara added that the deployment of a strengthened force of UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) to the
region was still "hypothetical." "We fully support the role of the UN in southern Lebanon,"
said Shara, but he warned that in dealing with any incidents UNIFIL "must not take position
against the Lebanese in favor of Israel" because it would be "immediately discredited."
Shara said UNIFIL should serve "all parties" without being "biased".

Asked to comment on the possible deployment of the Lebanese army in areas evacuated by
Israel, the Syrian minister said it was up to the Beirut government to decide.

Shara said Syria would have no reason to doubt that Israel had withdrawn from "the whole of
Lebanese territory" if this was certified by the UN.

Lebanon claims Israel continue to occupy a corner of land at the southeastern edge of
southern Lebanon, but Israel insists the area was formerly Syrian and could only be returned
as part of a peace accord with Damascus.

On the subject of the stalled peace negotiations with Israel, Shara said: "We are today at a
crossroads." "Either we sit and do nothing, or we pick up the talks on the basis of an
exchange of land against peace." He said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak should "extend
the hand of peace instead of making threats."
 
Arabia on Line © 2000 all rights reserved