Copyright 2001 Ha'aretz
Ha'aretz
July 8, 2001
Israel demands unedited UN tape
BYLINE: Shlomo Shamir, Jalal Bana and Amos Harel
Ha'aretz Correspondents and Agencies
Israel is rejecting the terms and conditions that the United Nations
has attached to the viewing of a videotape recorded by UNIFIL
soldiers in the area of Har Dov where three IDF soldiers were
abducted by the Hezbollah last October. Nonetheless, intensive
diplomatic contacts are going on in an effort to resolve the issue.
Adding further to the growing imbroglio, the IDF expressed doubt
regarding the identity of the persons seen on a photograph, shown on
Friday on Channel Two. Lebanese sources claim that the two young
men, lying in hospital in Beirut, are two of the kidnapped IDF
soldiers.
For their part, the families of the abducted soldiers have been
deeply shaken by the most recent photograph. The sister of Omar
Suwad, claims to have identified her brother in the hospital photo.
Addressing reporters on Friday, United Nations
Undersecretary-General Jean Marie Guehenno acknowledged that the UN
was in possession of a videotape, following months of denials by the
international organization that such a tape existed. However, the
senior UN official insists that the video was not taken at the
abduction scene.
Guehenno, who is in charge of UN peacekeeping missions, said that
the organization would allow Israeli officials to view a videotape
of vehicles believed to have been used in the abduction of three
Israeli soldiers - but the faces of the possible kidnappers will be
obscured.
Guehenno said the months of denial by UN officials were free from
guile and stemmed from them being unaware of its existence. He said
that the tape was brought to the UN headquarters in mid-May and he
was told about it on June 7.
He added that "those who did know about the tape believed it did not
provide any useful information," an assessment with which he was in
agreement.
Guehenno explained that the decision to release the tape for the
viewing of Lebanese and Israeli officials stemmed from humanitarian
reasons.
"The 30-minute tape, filmed by UN peacekeepers from India 18 hours
after the kidnappings, contains images of blood stains, UN uniforms
and forged license plates on the vehicles allegedly used by
Hezbollah during the abductions," he said.
Lebanon warns against tape's release
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's office issued a statement
yesterday saying that showing the tape would be "a dangerous
precedent" and a deviation from the UN peacekeeping force's mission
in south Lebanon.
The statement added that Lebanese authorities had rejected a UN
offer to view the tape because this would mean the "relaying
information from inside Lebanese territory to the Israeli enemy,
something that constitutes a deviation from the UN peacekeeping
force's mission in the south (of Lebanon)."
In a statement yesterday, the Hezbollah said that showing the tape
would question "the nature of United Nations missions and its role
in south Lebanon with regard to relaying information" to Israel.
Israel's mission to the UN rejected Guehenno's assessment that the
video contains no useful material regarding the kidnapping, and
insisted that the tape should be released to Israel unedited.
"Guehenno's view reflects the UN's point of view regarding the
importance of the tape," a senior Israeli delegate at the UN said.
"Israel has the means and equipment to analyze and evaluate in
greater detail the content of the tape. From our point of view, the
content of the tape may shed new light on the circumstances of the
abduction."
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Lankry, was more diplomatic
about the developments, calling the organization's decision to
release the tape for viewing by Lebanese and Israeli officials "a
step in the right direction."
He also described undersecretary Guehenno as "a reliable and honest
man," adding that "I tend to believe his claim that neither he nor
the Secretary General were aware of the tape's existence."
Guehenno acknowledged that the tape includes evidence that the
Hezbollah guerrillas masqueraded as UNIFIL peacekeepers, and showed
Lebanese who "seem to belong to the Hezbollah."
Guehenno said that these people came to the area where the vehicles
were abandoned while the UNIFIL soldiers were trying to tow them
away, and forcibly took them and their contents away.
"The faces of those persons in the video will be obscured," Guehenno
said, because there is no way of conclusively knowing whether they
were involved in the kidnapping. "Showing their faces could endanger
the security of our people in Lebanon," he said.
Israel sent investigators to India to question soldiers who returned
home after the kidnapping. One Israeli army officer said on
condition of anonymity that Israel was looking into whether UN
peacekeepers played a role in the abduction, but Guehenno said there
is not a shred of evidence to suggest that.