PRESS STATEMENT July 20, 2006 A call for an immediate cessation of violence in Lebanon MORE THAN a week ago, Israel launched a massive attack against Lebanon after Hezbollah militants conducted a cross-border raid in which two Israeli soldiers were abducted and eight others were killed. The attack, according to reports, rendered most of the country's bridges, Beirut's commercial airport, power plants, and cellphone towers unserviceable. And as Israel continues launching cross-border attacks, death toll is growing and the specter of a humanitarian crisis hangs like the sword of Damocles as Lebanese flee their homes, with air strikes on roads and bridges hampering efforts to help them. About 300 Lebanese citizens have been killed, including some 30 Lebanese soldiers, while some 30 Israelis, 12 of whom are military personnel, have died in the violence. Some 500,000 Lebanese were reportedly displaced most of whom are women, children, and the elderly. Judging from the scale of damage to both lives and properties, there is truth to the words of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora when he said Israel is "opening the gates of hell and madness" on his country. As the international community stood in awe and sorrow on the gravity of the situation, Israeli leaders continue to beat the drums of war. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has stood pat on his government's demands for the captured soldiers to be freed without condition and for Hezbollah to be disarmed. This statement came as tens of thousands more foreigners were set to leave Lebanon by land, sea, and air. Equally disturbing is the observation that while the governments of the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Moldova and Sweden are systematically organizing their evacuation operations to keep their nationals out of danger, the Asian governments are apparently silent in responding to the need of their own nationals in the area. Reports indicated that these Asians, most of whom worked as domestic helpers, were left and being abandoned by their fleeing employers. So far, the Philippine government was able to arrange an evacuation of some 190 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) out of the reported 1,000 who signify their intention to return home. But we cannot help to wonder what else the Arroyo government can do to an estimated 30,000 Filipinos in Lebanon who are now being trapped in the escalating conflict in the region. The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict-Southeast Asia (GPPAC-SEA) is monitoring closely the situation as fresh cross-border attacks by Israel on Lebanon continue. We are alarmed by the massive scale by which the Israeli government conducted its attack against its neighbor causing so much destruction to both limbs and properties. While we do not condone the activities of Hezbollah militants as it endangers the volatile peace situation in the region but we share the opinion that Israel's response to the crisis had been disproportionate. It is utterly an overkill on the part of Israel with a comparatively superior military to launch the massive cross-border attack with the aim of “eliminating Hizbollah militants”. We maintain that as a sovereign state, it falls upon the Lebanese government, not a foreign military force, to extend its authority throughout the territory including the South and sort out what is best to do on the question of disarming the militia. We view with deep concern the US position that a cease-fire was only advisable once the root cause of the fighting including the Hezbullah's attacks was addressed as this may be interpreted as an approval to Israel's cross-border attacks and aggression against Lebanon. Contrary to the US position that an immediate “cease-fire would leave intact a terrorist infrastructure", a ceasefire will allow a breathing space for all parties and for a UN-backed international force to stabilize the situation and prevent the outbreak of a humanitarian disaster in the troubled region. Therefore, in solidarity with the Lebanese people who are now at the receiving end of the hostilities, we call on all parties to immediately cause the cessation of violence. We also support the call by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for urgent action from the international community to stop the violence between Israel and Lebanon and the deployment for a new international stabilization force in the border region to end the fighting. In addition, we also call on all humanitarian agencies to respond to the needs of the civilians who were affected and suffered the most. The urgency of the situation requires the international community to move in solidarity to make a difference on the ground. Let us join hands and be united in calling all parties to stop the violence in Lebanon now. Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict-Southeast Asia (GPPAC-SEA) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~