SPEECH BY MR. BEN SKOSANA - MP

Madam Speaker, Hon. Ministers and Hon. Members,

The IFP welcomes the silence of the guns in the Middle East and supports the Security Council Resolution 1701 as an important Peace Initiative under the circumstances. It was evident during the period leading to the ceasefire that the International Military strategists and advisors attached to some prominent members of the UN Security Council had concluded that International Terrorism was fuelling the current war in the Middle East and therefore advocated a drawn out Israeli Military "offensive", to neutralize or cripple what was identified to be Hezbollah nerve centres or "infrastructures of terror" in Lebanon. At the same time concerned Arab leaders in the Region challenged the "fallacy" of a protracted violence against Lebanon, warning that it would neither protect Israel nor stabilize the Region in the long run. "What is happening will sow the seeds of hatred and extremism in the area and provide a pretext for those who feel that the international community is taking sides and lacks fairness as regards this dispute."

Either direction, the Humanitarian majority throughout the world was outraged by the indiscriminate cross-border attacks by both Israel and Hezbollah forces that have sadly resulted in the callous destruction of innocent lives, the displacement of civilians and obliteration of civilian objects and infrastructure. It must be clear to this august House, these callous acts of war constitute inexcusable contravention of international law, a serious violation of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949, intended to protect the civilian population and objects against the effects of hostilities,

"in order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives".

Combatants, men, women and children taken prisoner by both sides should be released immediately to help create a climate of trust. All refugees should be allowed safe passage back home and provided with the basic humanitarian needs, i.e. shelter, food, clothing etc.

At this juncture the urgent and fundamental role of this Parliament as the supreme council of our sovereign State is to support the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, affirm our Government's diplomatic overtures to persuade the Governments of Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to go back to the "Oslo Agreement", the "road map" and the "two state solution" doctrines for the lasting solution.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Mr. Ben Skosana: 082 887 2779

Noleen Hendricks: 082 886 9848