Paris Meeting Sparks U.N. Clash With Hezbollah

By Benny Avni
January 23, 2007
The New York Sun
Original Source: http://www.nysun.com/article/47148
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban this week is aiming to demonstrate how the United Nations can help rejuvenate Lebanon's war-scarred economy, at a U.N.-led international donor conference in Paris, but opposition leaders in Beirut will attempt to portray the conference as a foreign conspiracy to strip their country of its resources.
The Thursday conference, Mr. Ban's first international excursion as secretary-general, will offer him an opportunity to meet with top world leaders, including President Chirac of France and Secretary of State Rice, and act as coordinator in their efforts to aid the Lebanese economy.
Lebanon's debt is estimated at more than $40 billion after the summer war between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah, and the organizers of the Paris conference are seeking to raise billions of dollars in donations during the event. But starting today, the Hezbollah-led Lebanese opposition will organize large-scale Iran-funded demonstrations in Beirut and elsewhere in the country.
For the opposition, which is allied with Iran and Syria, the conference represents a chance to intensify the political campaign it launched in the aftermath of the war to attain parliamentary veto power — and, ultimately, to unseat Lebanon's pro-Western prime minister, Fouad Siniora.
More than anything else, the Paris conference demonstrates the support of the international system for this democratically elected government and also, the international system's support for the Lebanese people, a State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, said.
Declining to give an exact figure, Mr. McCormack added that Ms. Rice will announce a substantial American contribution at the conference, and that the Bush administration will encourage American corporations and private entrepreneurs to invest in Lebanon's economy.
The leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said yesterday that the sole aim of Mr. Siniora, as well as his Western and Sunni backers in Saudi Arabia, is to use the international conference to increase Lebanon's debt service. To whom do the banks belong? he said, according to Reuters. To them.
Several Lebanese and Western sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said Iranian agents have promised to reimburse families and individuals who participate in the Hezbollah-led demonstrations, and that demonstrators have received cash payments.
Within Lebanon, Hezbollah is backed by the Shiite Amal Party and the pro-Syrian Christian factions, led by nationally known figures such as a former general, Michel Aoun. The bloc is planning to conduct national strikes and demonstrations all week, starting today.
Although he pledged to avoid violence, Sheik Nasrallah accused Mr. Siniora of leading the country into a civil war.
In addition to securing aid for Lebanon, Mr. Ban will use this week's trip as a showcase for his ability to manage international affairs. Immediately after the conference, the secretary-general will travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he is scheduled to attend an African Union summit to discuss the crisis in Darfur.
Beyond the immediate issues at hand, the Paris conference represents an opportunity for Mr. Ban to gel some of his U.N. reorganization plans and appointments, which recently have met with fierce opposition.
The current head of the peacekeeping department, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, who will accompany the secretary-general on the trip this week, is seeking to retain his high-profile post. The issue will likely be decided in Mr. Guéhenno's native France, where some government officials are opposing his reappointment, though they fear losing the leadership of the prominent U.N. department.
Mr. Ban's entourage also will include a key adviser on Middle Eastern affairs from Kofi Annan's inner circle, Michael Williams, and the former secretary-general's special representative in Lebanon, Geir Pedersen. Mr. Ban's trusted South Korean adviser, Kim Won-soo, also will accompany him.