Asean members call for immediate truce in ME

Abdullah, the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East, warning that the situation threatened international peace and security.

His comments came shortly before US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is currently holding crisis talks in the Middle East, was due to attend a regional security forum here.

"We should not tolerate Israel's excessive military reprisals against Lebanon," Abdullah said as he opened the bloc's annual meeting of foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur.

"The collective punishment inflicted upon the Lebanese people and the destruction of towns and cities are unconscionable. The military incursions into Lebanese territory are (in) blatant disregard for Lebanon's sovereignty."

He added: "The United Nations Security Council should take action to call for an immediate ceasefire, deploy a United Nations peacekeeping force to implement the ceasefire and prevent an invasion of Lebanon."

Abdullah, who also chairs the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, called for Asean to speak out about the "plight of the Palestinians".

"I feel that we in Asean must make our voices heard, loudly and clearly, that we cannot continue tolerating the subjugation and repression of the Palestinian people by Israel," he said.

The Middle East peace process was now "in tatters" because of the violence, he added.

Asean, whose 10 members include the world's most populous Muslim nation Indonesia and mainly Muslim Malaysia, lashed out at the Jewish state in a separate statement late Monday.

It condemned Israel's "disproportionate, indiscriminate and excessive use of force", saying such actions would threaten efforts towards reviving peace talks with the Palestinians.

"We call for an immediate ceasefire and urge the international community and the United Nations Security Council to get all parties in the conflicts to adhere to the ceasefire under UN supervision," the statement said.

Asean's tough stance represents a significant departure for the bloc, which has emphasised the crisis in the Middle East this week despite normally staying low-key about the region.

Abdullah's comments were some of the toughest comments ever from a leader who promotes a moderate brand of Islam, and who in the same speech urged Asean to unite against global terrorism -- a key plank of US foreign policy.