By NNN-KUNA
London : Britain is “very worried” that if the Arab League initiative on Lebanon does not succeed the situation will be dangerous for that country and for the region as a whole, a senior British official has warned.
In a news briefing to a group of Arab journalists here Thursday, Britain’s Special Representative for the Middle East Michael Williams said, “Nature abhors a vacuum and the situation would become intolerable if the election of a new president for Lebanon would not go ahead in the near future”.
Williams reiterated Britain’s support for the Arab initiative and for the efforts undertaken by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa in that respect.
The envoy said the British view and the UN as a whole have asserted that weapons have no place in politics and that all militias should be disarmed in Lebanon.
However, he pointed out that this has got to come through a political process like what happened in Northern Ireland when the final disarmament of the IRA took around seven years.
Williams spoke about his recent visit to Beirut and the high-level contacts he conducted there as part of the efforts to end the current deadlock and to underscore the support for the Arab League initiative.
He said that three months have already passed since the former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term of office and since then the country has no head of state.
The British envoy also cautioned against the polarisation taking place in the country between the pro-government parties and the opposition. “This is very troubling for us and Lebanon needs to find a solution, and the task of the international community is to continue its support for the Arab initiative,” he added.
Britain again expresses its wish for the success of the new efforts to be undertaken by Moussa when he visits Lebanon in the next couple of days, Williams said.
He described the Arab League secretary-general’s task as “very difficult”. However, he is determined to carry on with his efforts.
Williams believed that this new mission by Moussa in Lebanon is going to be more difficult than his previous one.
The envoy also said that any talks about a new UN Security Council resolution on Lebanon is a “hypothetical matter”.
The Arab initiative now has the full support of the international community and “it is the only game in town”, he pointed out.
On the international tribunal to establish who was behind the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri, he reaffirmed Britain’s support for it.
Williams said, “We want to see the establishment of the court probably after June this year”.