Regent's Park &
Kensington North
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Karen Buck MP Regent's Park & Kensington North |
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Letter to Foreign Secretary 21 July 2006 Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP Foreign & Commonwealth Office King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH 21 July 2006 Dear Margaret, The Crisis in Lebanon I have been contacted by a number of constituents about the continuing crisis in Lebanon. All of the correspondence and the many phone calls and conversations that I have received has criticised outright our government for not standing clearly enough against what they see as a disproportionate response of the Israeli government although some (but not all) recognise the responsibility of Hezbollah in precipitating the most recent phase of conflict. They are appalled by the number of innocent Lebanese civilians (today at over 330) that have been killed as part of the “targeted” attacks of the Israeli Forces and how disproportionate this is to the attacks of the Hezbollah guerrillas. They fear that now foreign citizens are leaving, this will allow Israel a greater free hand in their actions in the area. The infrastructure of Lebanon has taken 16 years to rebuild after a long and bloody civil war and has left the nation as one of the most heavily indebted in the world. 16 years of international investment has now been demolished in the space of a few days. I would be grateful for your comments as to what this government’s position will be on the reconstruction of Lebanon and whether we are seriously expecting the already debt-ridden government of Lebanon to take on further loans to rebuild its country. As you know, there are currently thousands of Lebanese, particularly in the south of the country, who are without food, water and other necessities. This is because of the destruction of roads between villages as well as between Lebanon’s cities. Even if aid is allowed into the country and the Red Cross is allowed to begin work safely across Lebanon, they will be seriously hampered in their efforts unless they are able to fly in essentials to these now remote communities. If this is not allowed to take place urgently then more innocent Lebanese civilians will die of thirst and/or hunger. It is widely perceived that, diplomatically we are not showing ourselves as a key player in the Middle East. It is clear that pressure must be exerted, not solely on the Syrians and Iranians, but also by the US on the Israelis. It is within the power of the US government to dictate the rules to all parties in the region. Whilst we stand with the US on this issue and they continue to fail to act in bringing about a ceasefire that the Lebanese Premier has begged for – we look completely out of touch and are failing to represent the views of most of my constituents. I cannot see how the position that our government has adopted over the past few weeks will win back the tens of thousands of Muslims and Arabs across the country which left us in droves after the debacle of how the Iraq war was dealt with. I would appreciate your comments on this matter urgently. Yours sincerely  Karen Buck MP |
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