BEIRUT (AFP) - The UN force in south Lebanon expects a "summer of peace" for the region despite the menace of more attacks on peacekeepers, their commander said in an interview published on Thursday. But he also called for more to be done in clearing the region of weapons."We take seriously the possibility of other attacks. We hope the new security measures and the political process will manage to prevent them," said Major-General Claudio Graziano of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL).

Three Spanish and three Colombian-born troops of UNIFIL were killed last Sunday in a bomb attack in southern Lebanon as they patrolled between the towns of Marjayoun and Khiam, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Israeli border."There are still arms in the south. The Lebanese authorities must do more, with the support of UNIFIL, to secure the region and clear it of weapons," the general told leading Beirut daily An-Nahar. The Italian commander, whose comments were translated into Arabic, said there were no results yet from the UN probe into the attack, which has not been claimed by anyone.

By Nazih Siddiq, QALAMOUN, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers killed six Islamist militants, most of them foreigners, during a clash on the outskirts of the northern town of Qalamoun early on Thursday, security sources said. A military source said the gunmen appeared to be linked to al Qaeda-inspired militants of Fatah al-Islam which the army has been battling at a nearby Palestinian refugee camp since May 20.

The fighting between militants and the Lebanese army has killed at least 200 people in Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.The firefight on Thursday involved assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades as troops, backed by helicopters strafing the militants' hideout with machinegun fire, raided the woods on the outskirts of Qalamoun.

The army later blocked off the area near Qalamoun, which is on the Mediterranean coast about 5 km (3 miles) south of the city of Tripoli, and the fighting ended a few hours later.The military source said the group of dead militants were thought to be behind an attack on an army patrol on May 20 in northern Lebanon, one of the initial flare-ups of the fighting that ensued, mainly at the Nahr al-Bared camp.

By Nazih Siddiq TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) – Lebanese troops killed seven Islamist militants, most of them foreigners, in a raid on their …

حِيادُ لبنان الدائم استكمالٌ للاعترافِ به وطناً نهائياً

سجعان قزي

رسالةُ لبنان تُحتِّمُ عليه الانحيازَ، إنه وطنُ القلب. ومَوقِعُه يُحتِّم عليه الحيادَ، إنه في قلبِ الأزَمات. والمعادلاتُ الإبداعيّةُ في العِلمِ والفلسفةِ، وحتى في السياسةِ، غَالباً ما تنشأُ مِن مَزْجِ التناقضاتِ أكثر من جَمْعِ المتَشابِهات. أنّى للبنانَ إذَن أنْ يُوَفِّقَ بين رسالتِه التاريخيّةِ ومَوقعِه الجيوسياسي، وبين فِطرةِ الانحيازِ وحِكمةِ الحياد؟

مبدأُ الحيادِ لجأَت إليه الشعوبُ بسببِ هزيمةٍ عسكريّةٍ كالنَمسا، أو بسببِ حروبٍ داخليّةٍ كسويسرا، أو بسببِ جِوارِ دولةٍ كبرى تَوسُّعيّةٍ كفِنلندا، وغالباً للأسبابِ الثلاثةِ معاً. بفضلِ حِيادٍ مُتفاوِتِ المستويات، تَفادَت هذه الدولُ الثلاث شَبحَ التقسيمِ أو الضّمِّ إلى دولٍ أخرى. كلُّ هذه الحالاتِ، لاسيّما خطر التقسيمِ، قائمةٌ في لبنان وتَحُثُّنا على التفكيرِ في ما إذا كان الحيادُ مناسِباً للبنان.

تشخيصُ المعضِلة

كلبنانيين، قد نَختلِف على قضايا عديدةٍ، لكنّنا نتّفِق عموماً على أنَّ أزَماتِنا وحروبَنا نَشبَت نتيجةَ خِلافاتِنا الطائفيّةِ والمذهبيّةِ، ووجودِنا في جِوارِ دولٍ أو أنظمةٍ طامِعةٍ بأرضِنا، وانحيازِنا ـ عقائديّاً ونِضاليّاً وعسكريّاً ـ إلى صراعاتِ المحيطَين العربيِّ والإسلاميِّ وحتى الدوَليِّ. والمُصيبةُ الأعظم، أنَّ هذه العناصرَ الثلاثة حالَت أيضاً دونَ اتفاقِنا على قواعدَ متينةٍ لِحَلٍّ دائمٍ للأزَماتِ والحروب، فاكتفَينا، على مَضَضٍ، بتسوياتٍ سطحيّةٍ، اعتباطيةٍ ومؤَقّتةٍ، من حناياها فاحَت روائحُ الغَلَبةِ والغُبنِ، وفي طيّاتِها حَمَلت بُذورَ فِتنٍ لاحِقة.