Lebanon ceasefire - Deployment of UN troops must be swift

THE United Nations-backed ceasefire which began in Lebanon yesterday represents just a faltering step towards trying to eventually end this conflict, which has already lasted a month and claimed the lives of 1,100 Lebanese and 156 Israelis.

It is a temporary and uneasy truce, and while both Lebanon and Israel have accepted the UN-brokered ceasefire, it is a measure which is conditional upon the deployment in that country of an international peacekeeping force. It is imperative that this force be dispatched there sooner rather than later because it is obvious that both Israel and Hezbollah are still on a war footing, and a spark could re-ignite the tinderbox that is southern Lebanon.

As part of the fragile ceasefire, 15,000 Lebanese troops supported by an international force of equal strength are to maintain peace in Lebanon.

Ireland has, quite rightly, welcomed the adoption of the UN Security Council motion calling for a complete end to hostilities.

More importantly, it has indicated its willingness to participate in an international peacekeeping force, a role it has honourably discharged whenever requested.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern has indicated that the Government would be willing to commit Irish troops to a new UN peacekeeping force in the region, although any Irish contingent would be small because of other similar commitments.

In light of his statement, presumably the statement from the Department of Defence yesterday that there were no immediate plans to send Irish troops to Lebanon is not an accurate reflection of official policy.

There is an urgency in responding swiftly and positively to any request from the UN for troops, no matter how small a contingent the country can afford to dispatch. If it necessitates the recall of the Dáil to formally give its imprimatur, rather than a simple request from the UN to the Department of Foreign Affairs, then the urgency of the situation demands such should happen.

Cross-party agreement for a recall was forthcoming recently over the constitutional issue surrounding the rape law, and it would be improbable the Opposition parties would demur if such were required on this occasion.

Already, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has specifically said he would welcome the deployment of Irish troops as part of a UN peacekeeping force because of the country’s neutrality and the regard with which they were held on previous missions.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has made comparatively infrequent statements on foreign policy, apart from the North, but he has said that he was shocked and appalled at the deaths of about 50 Lebanese civilians in the village of Qana.

He said it strongly underlined the clear message the Government had been giving out which was that an immediate ceasefire on all sides was urgently necessary.

That ceasefire, tenuous and weak though it may prove to be, is at least now in place. Consequently, there is an obligation on the international community to respond with immediacy and urgency to ensure that the unconscionable loss of life ceases.

It is hopeful, at least, that the European Union is confident that 4,000 troops can be deployed quickly in southern Lebanon. The presence of such a force may ensure a long enough ceasefire to allow diplomacy to eventually succeed.