U.N. leader defends report on Israeli air strike
May 9, 1996
Web posted at: 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT)ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali Thursday rejected criticism of a United Nations report suggesting Israel deliberately shelled a U.N. base in Lebanon where more than 100 refugees died.
Israel said the April 18 attack was done in retaliation for rocket assaults from Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon.
In preparing the report, the United Nations "listened to the point of view of all parties concerned," Boutros-Ghali said during a question-and-answer session with journalists during the CNN World Report Global Forum in Atlanta.
He said the U.N. wasn't pressured to tone down the report, which concluded it was unlikely the shells fell on the compound because of "gross technical" or human error as Israel maintains.
But the report, released Tuesday, avoids an unequivocal accusation that Israeli gunners intentionally fired on the base.
Lebanon said Thursday that, based on the report, it may bring charges against Israel before the U.N. Security Council. Israeli officials said that would be absurd.
The United States, which brokered a cease-fire that ended the fighting on April 27, has strongly criticized the report saying it could jeopardize the tenuous truce.
U.N. role in Lebanon questioned
U.N. peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon allowed Hezbollah guerrillas to operate near the camp, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres charged Wednesday. He was quoted by Itim, the Israeli national news agency.
On Thursday, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that the Peres government, angered over the U.N. report, wants the peacekeepers' role reviewed.
Peres said the report ignored Hezbollah's Katyusha rocket attacks on Israel, and Israel's attempts to use diplomatic channels to defuse tension before resorting to violence.
Israel claims the shelling was the result of a string of tactical errors and was preceded by a Hezbollah attack launched from the vicinity of the base.
No pressure
Despite the criticism, Boutros-Ghali denied he was under pressure; he said UNIFIL's mission should continue.
"The presence of UNIFIL has been important in the past and will be important in the future." The final decision will be up to the Security Council, he said. "What is important is to look at the future. To avoid similar accidents from happening again."
Bosnia
Answering a question from CNN's Christiane Amanpour in Sarajevo, Boutros-Ghali acknowledged there have been setbacks with some U.N. peacekeeping efforts, including Bosnia.
But he insisted, "The great majority of our interventions have been successful -- in Asia, in Africa, in Central America and even in former Yugoslavia," specifically Macedonia.
Where there have been failures, he said it was important to keep trying. "We cannot afford indifference to atrocities committed around the world."
He urged the international community to maintain a "symbolic presence" in Bosnia after October when NATO peacekeepers are scheduled to begin their withdrawal.
Stay in Angola
Taking questions about Africa from CNN's Gary Streiker, who is based in Nairobi, Kenya, and Johannesburg Bureau Chief Mike Hanna, Boutros-Ghali indicated diplomatic determination was needed to bring peace to Angola, the southern nation racked by civil war for two decades.
Last February, the U.N. renewed its peacekeeping force in Angola.
"In spite of setbacks, we must not leave," the U.N. leader said, reasoning that a U.N. presence would bring a quicker resolution to civil unrest.
It was for that reason that Boutros-Ghali said he opposed last year's decision to withdraw U.N. forces trying to stop factional fighting in Somalia, where the killing continues.(196K AIFF sound or 196K WAV sound)
On other subjects, Boutros-Ghali said:
- The United Nations was "practically bankrupt" and does not have money to fully support peacekeeping operations and the War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He said U.N. members owe $2.8 billion in back dues. (170K AIFF sound or 170K WAV sound)
- The U.N. needs more cooperation from member states in arresting and turning over accused war criminals. "The Tribunal can not work without the cooperation of the member states."
- The peace process in the Middle East will continue and will be boosted after Israeli elections later this month.
- He will keep trying to put together an intervention force in Burundi, the central African country torn by ethnic hatred.
- Admitted failure in getting the United Nations to adopt a global ban on land mines. (145K AIFF sound or 145K WAV sound)
- Warned that water shortages and deforestation were some of the most serious problems facing the Mideast and Africa.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related sites:
- Profile of Boutros Boutros-Ghali from the United Nations web site
- U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations
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