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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lahoud: Lebanon considering war reparation bid against Israel |
| 2006-09-22 |
| From correspondents in United Nations Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has said overnight that his country reserved the right to take Israel before the UN General Assembly or the world court to seek reparations from damage caused by its recent war against Hezbollah guerrillas. "Lebanon retains the right to prosecute Israel before the competent bodies, most notably this venerable Assembly, or that of the International Tribunal, and to request the appropriate reparations for all the catastrophes Israel has inflicted on Lebanon," he told the UN General Assembly. The Syrian-backed president noted that Israel's devastating war in Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in July had left "thousands of innocent people either killed or injured." "The toll of destruction runs through several thousand housing units, hundreds of bridges, ports, airports and factories." Mr Lahoud also welcomed the international investigation into Israel's use of cluster bombs during the conflict in south Lebanon. "We are hopeful that this time, the world community will allow this investigation to reach its natural conclusion," Mr Lahoud said. "This will constitute a clear indictment of Israel for its recurring violations of international conventions and the Human Rights Charter." According to Israel's liberal Haaretz newspaper, the Jewish state's army dropped more than 1.2 million cluster bombs into Lebanon during the month-long conflict that ended last month. Cluster munitions spread bomblets over a wide area from a single container. The bomblets often do not explode on impact, but can do so later at the slightest touch, making them similar to anti-personnel landmines. The UN estimates that as many as 40 per cent of the apple-sized bomblets fired into Lebanon failed to explode on impact. Mr Lahoud's mandate was extended for three years in September 2004 at the request of Syria, whose troops were deployed in Lebanon at the time, despite a UN resolution calling for the country's constitution to be respected. As a result, the Lebanese president has since been boycotted by envoys and ambassadors of a majority of Western countries. |
| Posted by:Speater Flump2829 |
| #3 "A bully's lifelong search for victim status." Next Geraldo! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-22 14:31 |
| #2 He should let Nasrallah, the winner, demand reparations from the defeated enemy. Oh, right, well...... |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-09-22 13:04 |
| #1 Logical. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-09-22 10:37 |