From Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper:

Siniora admits weakness of state's authority

Monday, August 28, 2006

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said for the first time that the government's authority has been weakened in the past three decades and the state with its army should be the sole authority over the country. In an exclusive interview with CBC News Friday, Siniora said: "The government's authority over the various parts and various activities of the country, again in certain aspects, became very insignificant."

He added that the state should become the sole authority and only the Lebanese Army, Internal Security Forces and the UN international force carry weapons. He said developments over the past three decades have "weakened" the state.

South Lebanon has been considered to be under Hizbullah's control for several years.

Asked whether Hizbullah should be disarmed, Siniora said the term "disarmed" is "not at all the right word." He said it will be "through dialogue, through cooperation," with Hizbullah the goal of no weapons in the region is achieved.

"It's not a matter of disarming. It's through dialogue that we have to reach that point. And I think this can be achieved while at the same time trying to find out how to integrate the numbers of Hizbullah that want to really get integrated within the Lebanese Army," he said.

Siniora said the Lebanese Army is "definitely entitled" to prevent the movement of weapons from other countries into Lebanon, but suggested it won't act aggressively. "But I mean it's not there to use force. Let's make it very clear it's not there to use force, but if it has to use force to protect itself and to stop any infringement of the law, then definitely, this is the army and it has to do so. The army is in the South to defend law and order and to stop any infringement of the law," he said.