China on Friday demanded that Israel cooperate with the United
Nations and carry out all-round investigation into the bombing of a
UN post in south Lebanon that killed four observers including one
Chinese.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao also asked Israel to
announce its result as soon as possible.
"China urges Israel and related sides to implement their
international obligations and take practical measures to ensure the
security of UN peacekeepers," he said in a statement.
Liu made the remark when commenting on a statement issued on
Thursday by the United Nations Security Council on the Israeli
attack on the UN observer post.
The statement expressed shock and distress at Israel's bombing,
but avoided any condemnation.
All 15 council members agreed on the watered-down statement,
which was the first by the Security Council since fighting between
Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas began on July 12.
In the only reference to the wider conflict, the council
expressed its "deep concern for Lebanese and Israeli civilian
casualties and sufferings, the destruction of civil infrastructures
and the rising number of internally displaced people."
The statement was read at a formal meeting by the current
council president, France's UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de La
Sabliere.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, insisted on dropping
any condemnation or allusion to the possibility that Israel
deliberately targeted the post in the town of Khiyam near the
eastern end of the border with Israel.
China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, who proposed the statement,
noted that during council consultations "almost all the members,
with strong voice, condemned what happened, so I believe that this
condemnation is there."
Despite the final statement being "watered down," he said the
council "is not only doing justice to the victims and their
families, but also, more important ... to tens of thousands of
women and men who are working for this organization all over the
world."
China's initial draft would have had the council express shock
and distress at Israel's "apparently deliberate targeting" of the
UN base and condemn "this coordinated artillery and aerial attack
on a long-established and clearly marked UN post."
In that draft, China was following Secretary-General Kofi
Annan's statement late Tuesday that Israel appeared to have struck
the site deliberately an accusation Israel vehemently denies.
A revised draft dropped the reference to the "apparently
deliberate targeting" but kept in the condemnation and an allusion
to possible targeting. That was still unacceptable to the Americans
as was a call for a joint Israeli-UN investigation into the
incident, which Annan wanted.
In the final text, the condemnation of Israel was eliminated, as
was the call for a joint investigation.
It said "the Security Council is deeply shocked and distressed
by the firing by the Israeli Defence Forces on a United Nations
Observer post in southern Lebanon..."
The council also expressed deep concern about the safety and
security of UN personnel and stressed that Israel and "all
concerned parties" must comply with international humanitarian law,
which includes protecting UN personnel. It underlined "the
importance of ensuring that UN personnel are not the object of
attack."
The United Nations has decided to remove unarmed observers from
their posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border, a spokesman said on
Friday.
"These are unarmed people and this is for their protection,"
said Milos Struger, a spokesman for UNIFIL, the peacekeeping force
whose 2,000 members have light weapons for self-defence.
Liu said on Friday China has strongly condemned the attack on UN
observers.
China is also concerned about the situation in the Middle East,
currently one of tension and turbulence, Liu said.
China urges all parties to the conflict to cease fire
immediately, launch humanitarian assistance, and return to the
track of negotiations for a political solution, so as to restore
peace and security in the region as soon as possible, he said.
Liu added that China has decided to offer emergency humanitarian
aid to Lebanon, without elaborating.
(China Daily July 29, 2006)