Last update - 00:00 12/09/2006
Merkel indicates German Cabinet to approve Lebanon mission
By The Associated Press
German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated Tuesday that her Cabinet will approve Germany's naval contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
Following a bilateral meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in this southern German town, Merkel said her Cabinet's decision to consider participation in the force on Wednesday meant that all the necessary elements had been received.
Germany had insisted that it receive a formal request from the Lebanese government, as well as clear rules of engagement.
"The fact that the Cabinet has announced (it will take up the issue) indicates that everything that we feel is necessary is there," Merkel said.
She also said the German government has received the operation plan and rules of engagement for the naval forces, but declined to go into details.
Germany has offered to send warships and surveillance planes to help patrol the Lebanese coast and to prevent weapons shipments to Hezbollah militants.
It already has begun deploying customs officers and police officers to advise Lebanese authorities on how to tighten their border controls.
After unsourced reports earlier in the week that Lebanon was seeking to seriously curtail the authority of the German forces, ARD public television reported on Tuesday that the navy would have the "robust mandate" Merkel had sought.
Citing unidentified government sources, ARD said the German forces would be given the authority to both stop and board suspect ships if necessary.
The Defense Ministry did not immediately confirm the report.
In Lebanon, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's spokesman Aref Abed said that under the agreement signed with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, "Lebanon would patrol its waters up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) and the foreign navies up to 12 miles (20 kilometers), with the Lebanese army be able to ask for UNIFIL help when necessary."
If the mission is approved by the German Cabinet as expected, it still needs parliamentary approval, which is anticipated within the next week.
Hungary's parliament would likewise be willing to back the deployment of a small contingent of doctors and border guards in Lebanon, lawmakers said Tuesday.
The Cabinet is expected to outline a proposal on Wednesday for participating in the UN-led peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and present it to parliament for approval as early as next week.
According to preliminary discussions, Hungary's contingent would comprise 12 border guards and six doctors.
Lawmakers from both the ruling Socialist Party and from Fidesz, the main center-right opposition group, said Tuesday they would be willing to back the proposal.
"Since this mission has a UN mandate, it has the necessary international authorization allowing us to support the mission," said Fidesz deputy Zsolt Nemeth, chairman of the parliament's foreign relations committee.
"It is also important for the European Union to play a part in resolving this serious problem related to the stabilization of the Middle East."
Socialist deputy Vilmos Szabo said his party is also willing to vote in favor of the mission, which would need to be approved in parliament by a two-thirds majority.
The Czech Republic, on the other hand, is unlikely to send troops to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon due to lack of finances, the country's Defense Minister Jiri Sedivy said Tuesday.
Ships carrying tanks for French peacekeepers arrive in Beirut
Two cargo ships carrying heavy equipment for French peacekeepers in the UN force monitoring the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah have docked at the Beirut port and began unloading early Tuesday, a
spokesman for the French contingent said.
Lt. Col. Eric Carret told The Associated Press that the Fast Arrow and the Fast Challenger brought heavy equipment, including 13 Leclerc tanks, artillery and other machinery.
Unloading the consignments is expected to continue until later this afternoon, he said.
On Monday, 202 French troops arrived by military planes to join another 200 French troops at a makeshift base in Beirut. Additional troops are expected to arrive later in the week.
France, which currently leads the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, is expected to increase its contribution to 2,000 soldiers as part of a force of 15,000 that will help the Lebanese army establish authority along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas ended after 34
days on August 14 under a UN-brokered cease-fire.