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by Geir E Jansen
Mon Aug 21st, 2006 at 05:14:00 AM EST
The fragile cease-fire in the 34-day armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is holding for a third day, and now several analysts on international politics are questioning themselves what comes after the UN-resolution 1701 ?
UN Security Council told Le Monde daily.
"Peace is vulnerable to a provocation, or a stray act, that could undermine everything," the French Maj. Gen. added.
Pellegrini commands the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, which has some 2,000 troops. He said it would take a long time for UNIFIL to grow into the 15,000-strong force authorised by the U.N. Security Council in UN-resolution 1701.
UNIFIL-Commander
Maj. General
Alain Pellegrini
His assessment of the volatile situation in Lebanon after the cease-fire came into effect, illustrates the crucial point now, managing to deliver on the implementation of UN-resolution 1701.
The key-points in the resolution; cessation of hostilities between the two parties, a transfer of authority and power from the Hezbollah militia to the regular national Lebanese Army in the southern part of the country with the assistance of an increased UN-force, and the immediate hand-over of the two captured Israeli soldiers, together with an appeal to find a solution on the issue of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli custody, have already been an issue, both within the Lebanese government, and in the international community, with different interpretations with regard to what the UN-resolution specifically demands of the involved parties.
The most difficult of the key-points seem to be the call for the establishment of the national Lebanese Army as the sole military authority in the south, with reference to the UN-resolution 1559, calling for the disarmament of "...all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias" (article 3).
***Back from front page - whataboutbob
by Geir E Jansen
Wed Nov 23rd, 2005 at 04:47:40 PM EST
Following the historic vote and inauguration of Angela Merkel as the first female chancellor in Germany in the Bundestag Tuesday, the new German chancellor decided that Paris would be the destination for her first official visit to a foreign country.
Chancellor Merkel with this visit to France, wanted to confirm her commitment to the historic and special relationship between France and Germany, a relationship that has been crucial particularly in the development of, and to the integration-process within the European Union.
"I am confident we will manage to develop our cordial relationship," Merkel told a news conference after talks with French president Jacques Chirac, who greeted her with a kiss on the hand at his presidential Elysee Palace, Reuter's reports.
Chirac underlined the need for France and Germany to continue to be Europe's engine at a time when it faces major challenges, but without imposing their will on others.
Merkel's predecessors, Gerhard Schroeder and Helmut Kohl, began with visits to Paris and pledged to uphold the Franco-German axis that has underpinned post-war German foreign policy.
Merkel said the close relationship between Paris and Berlin was a "miracle", given a history of conflict including two world wars during the last century, Reuter’s reports further.
Pressing problems in Europe, such as the need for a quick deal on the next EU budget, mean the day-to-day partnership with France and the Union remains vital.
She was due to spend two hours in Paris before going to Brussels to meet European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the heads of NATO and the European Parliament. She meets Prime Minister Tony Blair in London on Thursday.
by Geir E Jansen
Sun Oct 23rd, 2005 at 08:51:57 AM EST
promoted by Jerome. Some of the text put below the fold.
Next week’s summit in Britain of the heads of states and heads of governments in the member-states of the EU, will be dominated by a topic that politically are directly linked to core-values within all European nations, and touches issues that are fundamental in domestic economic policy.
How to organize the society, and what to emphasize and give priority in the economic policy, are controversial and hot political issues, in any given state, and that is certainly the case too, with the discussions that already have taken place, prior to the upcoming high-level summit in the EU.
The discussions have already materialized themselves, though only vaguely so, along the lines of the pros and contras of two different models of organizing the society and ways of executing economic policy, the “Anglo-Saxon”-model and the “Continental” or “Social Welfare-State”-model.
by Geir E Jansen
Sun Sep 18th, 2005 at 08:30:30 PM EST
Sunday Germans went to the polls in what seemed to be an election-thriller with no definitive outcome, in general with regard to the question of who should be coalition-partners in the next German government, and in particular to who should take the leading role in the post-election government.
For a long time the black-yellow coalition-alternative of the conservative Christian-Democratic party and the liberal FDP, had
a decisive lead in the polls.
But as the election-date came closer, the incumbent chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his red-green coalition of the Social-Democratic party and the party of the Green, closed the gap day by day, until the polls indicated a difference of only a few percent-points one day in advance of the election.
The results of the German election so far are confirming the trend that the two alternative government-coalitions have got more or less the same percent-points of votes, SPD and the Greens 42,3 %, and CDU/CSU and FDP 45 %, no one with a clear parliamentary majority (at 21.30 PM GMT), German television-channel ZDF reports.
The big surprise seem to be the poor result of the CDU/CSU, having such a clear lead, for so long in the different opinion-polls, 15-20 % at the most.
The winners seem to be the liberal FDP with 10 %, and the newly established Left party with 8,6 %.
The poor election-results for the CDU/CSU, could partly seem to be explained in tactical voting by conservative voters, voting on the liberal FDP, to try to prevent a possible "grand coalition" between the CDU/CSU and the SPD.
On the other side the drop in percent-points for the SPD, could partly be explained by the establishment of the Left party, who to a great extend have taken votes away from the SPD.
The overall picture seem to be a snap-shot of a political status-quo between the two alternative government-coalitions since the last election in 2002, only with a leak of votes to parties on the same side in a left-right perspective, both CDU/CSU and SPD got 38,5 % in 2002.
