[Kabar-indonesia] Muslim bloc demands Lebanon ceasefire, peace role as summit begins

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: Muslim Bloc Begins Emergency Summit On Mideast Fighting

Muslim world demands Lebanon ceasefire, peace role

By Jonathan Lyons, Asia Security Correspondent

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Aug. 3 (Reuters) - Leaders from the Muslim world, 
spearheaded by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Thursday sought an 
immediate end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon and inclusion of Muslim forces in any 
future peacekeeping operation.

Mindful of restive populations back home, and aghast at the death toll in 
heavily Muslim southern Lebanon, select members of the Organization of Islamic 
Conference gathered in special session -- more than three weeks after the start 
of the crisis.

"We must show preparedness to contribute forces for peacekeeping operations 
under the United Nations banner," Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia's prime 
minister and host of the conference, said in remarks prepared for delivery behind 
closed doors. "Malaysia is ready to do that."

Diplomats from OIC countries say they want some member states -- Turkey, 
Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan have all been mentioned -- to contribute to a 
"Blue Helmet" force of U.N. peacekeepers to separate the combatants.

The OIC, its leaders under mounting domestic pressure, is also hopeful it can 
lean on Western powers, chiefly Israel's superpower ally the United States, 
to back an immediate ceasefire and deploy peacekeepers.

"We don't want a clash of civilizations, but all over the Muslim world a very 
negative feeling is arising in the streets," Pakistani Foreign Minister 
Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri told reporters before the start of the meeting in 
Malaysia's administrative capital.

Among others attending were the president of Indonesia, the world's most 
populous Muslim nation, the prime minister of Muslim powerhouse Turkey, and 
representatives of Pakistan, Egypt, and Lebanon.

EYES ON AHMADINEJAD

But it was the charismatic figure of Ahmadinejad, his hardline comments on 
Israel reinvigorated by public backing from Iran's supreme clerical leader, that 
was most likely to animate the conference and advance efforts to get the 
OIC's voice heard above the diplomatic din.

Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, arrived just 
before the opening session and declined any comment. On Wednesday, Iranian 
state television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in matters 
of state, as vowing unyielding support for Lebanese resistance against Israel.

At least 643 people in Lebanon, most civilians, and 56 Israelis have been 
killed in the conflict. Almost a quarter of the population of Lebanon, some 
750,000 people, has been displaced.

The U.S.-based watchdog Human Rights Watch said late on Wednesday that the 
bodies of 28 people killed in an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of 
Qana had been recovered and 13 people were missing. The official Lebanese toll 
is 54.

Diplomats say the United States and France are still ironing out differences 
on an initial resolution calling for a truce, a buffer zone and the 
disarmament of Hizbollah.

But Paris, tipped as leader of a peacekeeping force, said it would not send 
troops without a truce and a pact in principle on the framework for a long-term 
peace deal by Israel, Hizbollah and the Beirut government.

Washington wants a force as soon as fighting stops, with talks to begin then 
on a permanent ceasefire.

(Additional reporting by Clarence Fernandez and Jalil Hamid)

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Muslim Bloc Begins Emergency Summit On Mideast Fighting

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Aug. 3 (AP)--The Muslim world's biggest bloc held an 
emergency summit Thursday to muster support for a swift cease-fire, peacekeeping 
missions and coordinated humanitarian relief in Lebanese and Palestinian 
territories. 

Malaysia, which chairs the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, 
rallied presidents, prime ministers and policy-makers of 17 key Muslim 
countries - including Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey - to articulate their 
anguish over Israel's warfare in the Middle East. 

The conflict "carries the danger of a spillover that will have disastrous 
consequences," Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said in a prepared speech at 
the one-day talks. "This will surely add to radicalization in the Muslim 
world, (which) in turn will increase difficulties for those of us on the side of 
moderation." 

The leaders were likely to demand an immediate, unconditional cease-fire 
between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, as well as a 
multinational force to stabilize the Israeli-Lebanon border under the United Nations and 
properly coordinated humanitarian aid to Lebanon and Palestinian sites, 
Malaysian officials have said. 

The summit comprising member governments of the OIC's executive committee and 
primary stakeholders also was expected to consider peacekeeping troop 
commitments from Muslim countries and to call for a U.N.-sponsored conference to spur 
the reconstruction of Lebanon's economy and infrastructure. 

Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Fawzi Salloukh expressed hopes that "the 
voice of the Muslim world should be heard solemnly...in solidarity with the 
Lebanese people." 

Israel "will not be victorious," Salloukh told Malaysia's national news 
agency, Bernama. "They have destroyed our infrastructure, bridges, airports and 
seaports, but they cannot destroy our spirit." 

Top figures assembled included President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, which 
Israel and the U.S. accuse of being a principal arms sponsor for Hezbollah. 

Iran has said it only provides moral support to Hezbollah, whose July 12 
abduction of two Israeli soldiers sparked the region's latest war. 

Also present were President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, the most 
populous Muslim nation, and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan, the only 
known Muslim nuclear power, and leaders of Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei and 
Turkey. 

Foreign ministers, royalty members and senior officials represented Lebanon, 
Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Senegal, the United Arab Emirates 
and Yemen, as well as the Palestinian Liberation Organization. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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