BEIRUT: UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas said over the weekend that the international forces’ goal of reaching a durable cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel is difficult but not impossible.
“To accomplish this mission between these two mutually hostile countries with a force of more than 12,000 soldiers from 36 countries … under the flag of the United Nations in an unstable regional environment, is difficult and complicated but not impossible,” Asarta, a Spanish national, said during a dinner party in his honor at the Spanish Embassy held to mark the end of his term.
“In UNIFIL, we believe that the principal goal we came here to accomplish, which is a durable cease-fire that will allow both parties to live in peace as neighbors, can and will be achieved," he added.
Asarta, who assumed command of the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon on Jan. 28, 2010, also enumerated the successes notched by the 12,077-strong international force, which include a cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, the building of confidence between the concerned parties and UNIFIL, and the drawing of the blue line, which serves to demarcate the border between Lebanon and Israel.
“UNIFIL has been successful in some instances and less successful in others but, as I always say, the success of the overall mission depends not only on the United Nations but also on the goodwill of the concerned parties and their coordination with us,” Asarta pointed out.
The UNIFIL presence in the south was beefed up in the wake of the 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel, as per the requirements of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
In September 2011, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend UNIFIL’s mandate to Aug. 31, 2012, while condemning “in the strongest terms” the attacks against UNIFIL which have occurred in south Lebanon.
Last year, French troops were attacked by a roadside bomb twice, while a similar attack against the force’s Spanish contingent wounded a total of 16 peacekeepers.
“I conclude my term as commander of the UNIFIL with peace of mind, and knowing that I have done everything I could do. I wish this country, which I love, all the best and a better tomorrow, particularly for people in the south among whom I was happy to live,” the UNIFIL commander said.