Local Editor
Interview by Fatima Salemeh
Photographs by Moussa Al Husseini
It is the memory of the Resistance and Liberation Day, the memory of the victories that the honorable fighters have brought into history. These victories have been carved in our country's memory and have become an individual part of the culture of the people and the successive generations. Hereupon, the head of the "Change and Reform Movement", MP General Michel Aoun, congratulated the Resistance for the grand victory it achieved on the 25th of May, 2000, whereby the Resistance routed the legend of the unconquerable army. General Aoun emphasized that he constantly stands by the Resistance and the resistive work because this is a sacred choice. Besides, he reiterated that the presence of arms is a national necessity upon the constant "Israeli" danger that threatens Lebanon, for "Israel" pursues invading this nation at any moment in order to achieve the "Israeli" aims, whereby it seeks to impose its will through a solution, and the solution requires - at least- settling the Palestinians and getting water from Lebanon.
In an interview with "Al Intiqad" online paper, General Aoun emphasized that martyrdom is not merely a normal event of a person's life; yet, it belongs to a person who has offered his life as a giving to the nation and who has sacrificed his most valuable possession for the sake of the nation's esteem and liberation. General Aoun pointed out that nothing is more valuable than this martyrdom, which has been necessitated by the Zionist presence in Lebanon, where such presence was the result of piling mistakes that have led us to the "Israeli" occupation.
The Relation with Hizbullah
General Aoun iterated that his relation with Hizbullah is quite firm and built on beliefs, saying, "Since our basic choice is the resistance, we bear all silly political consequences, whereby some parties have absorbed the ‘Israeli' character and have begun to consider that our support to the Resistance means we're their enemies -as if the Resistance, ‘Israel's' enemy, were our enemy." General Aoun noted that the great mistaken feeling a Lebanese person may have is to feel that he's the enemy of Hizbullah.
The head of the "Reform and Change Bloc" said, "Some have considered the resistive work as a political one." He emphasized that "this belief only translates absolute intellectual irrationality." He added, "They're afraid that the Resistance's arms might dominate them even though there hasn't been any reason to make them believe so."
The head of the "Reform and Change Movement" stressed the importance of such arms "when Lebanon owns no defensive system that performs a deterrent duty against any ‘Israeli' aggression." He further explained that the Resistance is the only choice and has added, "In the absence of danger, we must have established Lebanese military institutions, and we must be perfectly ready... We need a defensive strategy founded on the people-Army-Resistance delta." General Aoun remarked that this delta results from the defense will that the others do not own, yet they own the submission will or the surrender to the international institutions, which are beneficial in no form at all, for the United Nations and the Security Council are the "greatest ridicule" since they are hired to serve the grand states that own the right to veto, whereas others follow them. Only the Palestinians, in addition to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, which surround ‘Israel", are harmed by the interests built with "Israel".
Asked whether the Movement is going to insist on suggesting the term "resistance" in the ministerial statement, the General said, "This is to be discussed, for it may be both a resistance and confrontation, or maybe this term won't be present. We preserve our right to maneuver."
Concerning the fact that some Christians are afraid of the Resistance's arms even though the arms have never been aimed at the Christians, the General assured them, "We who handle the political leadership have to assure them. As time goes by, we'll find them getting familiar with this Resistance and finding that it protects our nation - on condition that the arms keepers do not commit any mistake."
Besides, he considered that "this fear is justified since the memory has a lot of painful Lebanese incidents - even though the Resistance hasn't committed this great crime; however, man tends to involve all arms keepers with this imaginary image." He pointed out that there is a big margin to differentiate between the resistance along the borders and who claimed the resistance inside of Lebanon but used arms to exterminate the safe residents."
The Liberation Day
The General recalled the news of liberation as he was away from Lebanon, and from this memory, he's inspired meanings that can't merely be described in words. He declared that the Resistance's victory and the enemy's defeat at that time made a pleasant surprise to him.
General Aoun recalled the Liberation days, declaring that he would constantly keep up with the incidents as he was abroad. "I would continuously receive calls from the borders, where worry was present upon the Lebanese-Lebanese clashes that ended with massacres. We were in a state of watchfulness," he said.
"Because of the atmospheres of tension then, many ran away to ‘Israel', but among them there were innocent people who did no wrong thing, and they stayed there."He hoped that the Lebanese government would be formed "so that Lebanon witnesses a moment of stability and eventually handles the situation of who resorted to ‘Israel'."
Aoun, speaking about the distorted image of the Resistance that some people would create, said "Being abroad, we would hear a lot of mistaken news about the Resistance. However, I've actually made a good discovery of the Resistance after I came to Lebanon." He declared, "My conception of Hizbullah has changed ever since I returned to Lebanon and got introduced to the Secretary General of Hizbullah, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah." Aoun pointed out that the Resistance meant a lot to him while he was away, whereby he offered consolation for the martyrdom of Sayyed Hadi Nasrallah, the son of Hizbullah's Secretary General.
The conspiracy of March-14 Forces
Being asked about the campaign that March-14 forces launched against the Resistance's arms, the head of the "Reform and Change Movement" said that this team hasn't left anyone in peace, whereby it launched a campaign against the arms keepers as well as their friends.
This team acts according to the ‘Israeli' solution." Aoun remarked that the poles of this team work upon the principle of overthrowing the Syrian regime in return for peace with the enemy's entity - exactly like what their Syrian "head", Abdul Haleem Khaddam, declared on the Occupation's channel regarding overthrowing the Syrian regime in return for peace with the enemy's entity. Aoun emphasized that they work indirectly for peace with the enemy once they support settling the Palestinians and giving water to "Israel".
He added, "They say they are against the Syrian regime so that they recruit us all against Syria... And they say that Syria's going to dominate Lebanon, whereas they actually want to overthrow the regime to accomplish peace ‘with the enemy'." He also said, "There exist people who sell themselves to the devil and walk from a failure to another." He pointed out that Europe and the United States are doing the best they can to the political balance so that they keep March-14 forces on earth. Europe and the United States want them to be strong and effective; however, they get scattered like feathers as the first wind blows - just like they always do. They rely on what they say rather than on what they do.
The International Tribunal and the Government
As respects the way to deal with the issue of the Tribunal in case the government is formed, the head of the "Reform and Change Movement" said that "we can legitimately debase the Tribunal, declaring that Lebanon has no commitments like what the United States Assistant Secretary of State for the affairs of the Near East, Jeffrey Feltman, has said; he has come to Lebanon to translate the rude meddling with our country's affairs." Aoun reminded us of the book he sent years ago to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Mon, in which he stressed the necessity of passing the Tribunal to the parliamentary council so that it gets ratified in accordance with the Lebanese constitution and many standards.
In regard to the adjustments concerning the indictment that the Prosecutor General of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Bellemare, makes every now and then, General Aoun reiterated that Bellemare adjusts the indictment upon request as if the Tribunal were a house map.
Also, Aoun censured the moodiness controlling the adjustments every now and then.
Speaking of the international Tribunal, Aoun said, "In the first place, I haven't been convinced with the legitimacy of ratifying it by the Lebanese government since it contradicts what the constitution states and hasn't been passed to the parliament... So it is illegitimate." He pointed out that according to the seventh standard, the crime that has been behind founding the Tribunal isn't enough reason for passing it to the Security Council.
Aoun stressed the absence of any respect for the Charter of the United Nations, which states that constitutions and their peoples' sovereignty must be respected. He also pointed out that the practices of those in charge of this Tribunal are translated as an aggression against the Lebanese sovereignty, particularly when it's about making and forcing out decisions in the Security Council. He added, "There exist so many mistakes in the Tribunal's practices, and this is a very aggressive act. Although I was among the first to advocate for the international Tribunal, I did so on condition that it be disciplined and committed to this discipline."
Interview by Fatima Salemeh
Photographs by Moussa Al Husseini
It is the memory of the Resistance and Liberation Day, the memory of the victories that the honorable fighters have brought into history. These victories have been carved in our country's memory and have become an individual part of the culture of the people and the successive generations. Hereupon, the head of the "Change and Reform Movement", MP General Michel Aoun, congratulated the Resistance for the grand victory it achieved on the 25th of May, 2000, whereby the Resistance routed the legend of the unconquerable army. General Aoun emphasized that he constantly stands by the Resistance and the resistive work because this is a sacred choice. Besides, he reiterated that the presence of arms is a national necessity upon the constant "Israeli" danger that threatens Lebanon, for "Israel" pursues invading this nation at any moment in order to achieve the "Israeli" aims, whereby it seeks to impose its will through a solution, and the solution requires - at least- settling the Palestinians and getting water from Lebanon.
In an interview with "Al Intiqad" online paper, General Aoun emphasized that martyrdom is not merely a normal event of a person's life; yet, it belongs to a person who has offered his life as a giving to the nation and who has sacrificed his most valuable possession for the sake of the nation's esteem and liberation. General Aoun pointed out that nothing is more valuable than this martyrdom, which has been necessitated by the Zionist presence in Lebanon, where such presence was the result of piling mistakes that have led us to the "Israeli" occupation.
The Relation with Hizbullah
General Aoun iterated that his relation with Hizbullah is quite firm and built on beliefs, saying, "Since our basic choice is the resistance, we bear all silly political consequences, whereby some parties have absorbed the ‘Israeli' character and have begun to consider that our support to the Resistance means we're their enemies -as if the Resistance, ‘Israel's' enemy, were our enemy." General Aoun noted that the great mistaken feeling a Lebanese person may have is to feel that he's the enemy of Hizbullah.
| The Resistance is a Sacred Choice, Keeping Arms is Necessary to Protect our Nation from ‘Israeli' Danger. |
The head of the "Reform and Change Bloc" said, "Some have considered the resistive work as a political one." He emphasized that "this belief only translates absolute intellectual irrationality." He added, "They're afraid that the Resistance's arms might dominate them even though there hasn't been any reason to make them believe so."
The head of the "Reform and Change Movement" stressed the importance of such arms "when Lebanon owns no defensive system that performs a deterrent duty against any ‘Israeli' aggression." He further explained that the Resistance is the only choice and has added, "In the absence of danger, we must have established Lebanese military institutions, and we must be perfectly ready... We need a defensive strategy founded on the people-Army-Resistance delta." General Aoun remarked that this delta results from the defense will that the others do not own, yet they own the submission will or the surrender to the international institutions, which are beneficial in no form at all, for the United Nations and the Security Council are the "greatest ridicule" since they are hired to serve the grand states that own the right to veto, whereas others follow them. Only the Palestinians, in addition to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, which surround ‘Israel", are harmed by the interests built with "Israel".
Asked whether the Movement is going to insist on suggesting the term "resistance" in the ministerial statement, the General said, "This is to be discussed, for it may be both a resistance and confrontation, or maybe this term won't be present. We preserve our right to maneuver."
Concerning the fact that some Christians are afraid of the Resistance's arms even though the arms have never been aimed at the Christians, the General assured them, "We who handle the political leadership have to assure them. As time goes by, we'll find them getting familiar with this Resistance and finding that it protects our nation - on condition that the arms keepers do not commit any mistake."
Besides, he considered that "this fear is justified since the memory has a lot of painful Lebanese incidents - even though the Resistance hasn't committed this great crime; however, man tends to involve all arms keepers with this imaginary image." He pointed out that there is a big margin to differentiate between the resistance along the borders and who claimed the resistance inside of Lebanon but used arms to exterminate the safe residents."
The Liberation Day
The General recalled the news of liberation as he was away from Lebanon, and from this memory, he's inspired meanings that can't merely be described in words. He declared that the Resistance's victory and the enemy's defeat at that time made a pleasant surprise to him.
General Aoun recalled the Liberation days, declaring that he would constantly keep up with the incidents as he was abroad. "I would continuously receive calls from the borders, where worry was present upon the Lebanese-Lebanese clashes that ended with massacres. We were in a state of watchfulness," he said.
"Because of the atmospheres of tension then, many ran away to ‘Israel', but among them there were innocent people who did no wrong thing, and they stayed there."He hoped that the Lebanese government would be formed "so that Lebanon witnesses a moment of stability and eventually handles the situation of who resorted to ‘Israel'."
Aoun, speaking about the distorted image of the Resistance that some people would create, said "Being abroad, we would hear a lot of mistaken news about the Resistance. However, I've actually made a good discovery of the Resistance after I came to Lebanon." He declared, "My conception of Hizbullah has changed ever since I returned to Lebanon and got introduced to the Secretary General of Hizbullah, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah." Aoun pointed out that the Resistance meant a lot to him while he was away, whereby he offered consolation for the martyrdom of Sayyed Hadi Nasrallah, the son of Hizbullah's Secretary General.
The conspiracy of March-14 Forces
Being asked about the campaign that March-14 forces launched against the Resistance's arms, the head of the "Reform and Change Movement" said that this team hasn't left anyone in peace, whereby it launched a campaign against the arms keepers as well as their friends.
As their head Khaddam, March-14 poles pursue overthrowing the Syrian Regime in return for peace with ‘Israel' |
This team acts according to the ‘Israeli' solution." Aoun remarked that the poles of this team work upon the principle of overthrowing the Syrian regime in return for peace with the enemy's entity - exactly like what their Syrian "head", Abdul Haleem Khaddam, declared on the Occupation's channel regarding overthrowing the Syrian regime in return for peace with the enemy's entity. Aoun emphasized that they work indirectly for peace with the enemy once they support settling the Palestinians and giving water to "Israel".
He added, "They say they are against the Syrian regime so that they recruit us all against Syria... And they say that Syria's going to dominate Lebanon, whereas they actually want to overthrow the regime to accomplish peace ‘with the enemy'." He also said, "There exist people who sell themselves to the devil and walk from a failure to another." He pointed out that Europe and the United States are doing the best they can to the political balance so that they keep March-14 forces on earth. Europe and the United States want them to be strong and effective; however, they get scattered like feathers as the first wind blows - just like they always do. They rely on what they say rather than on what they do.
The International Tribunal and the Government
As respects the way to deal with the issue of the Tribunal in case the government is formed, the head of the "Reform and Change Movement" said that "we can legitimately debase the Tribunal, declaring that Lebanon has no commitments like what the United States Assistant Secretary of State for the affairs of the Near East, Jeffrey Feltman, has said; he has come to Lebanon to translate the rude meddling with our country's affairs." Aoun reminded us of the book he sent years ago to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Mon, in which he stressed the necessity of passing the Tribunal to the parliamentary council so that it gets ratified in accordance with the Lebanese constitution and many standards.
In regard to the adjustments concerning the indictment that the Prosecutor General of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Bellemare, makes every now and then, General Aoun reiterated that Bellemare adjusts the indictment upon request as if the Tribunal were a house map.
Also, Aoun censured the moodiness controlling the adjustments every now and then.Speaking of the international Tribunal, Aoun said, "In the first place, I haven't been convinced with the legitimacy of ratifying it by the Lebanese government since it contradicts what the constitution states and hasn't been passed to the parliament... So it is illegitimate." He pointed out that according to the seventh standard, the crime that has been behind founding the Tribunal isn't enough reason for passing it to the Security Council.
Aoun stressed the absence of any respect for the Charter of the United Nations, which states that constitutions and their peoples' sovereignty must be respected. He also pointed out that the practices of those in charge of this Tribunal are translated as an aggression against the Lebanese sovereignty, particularly when it's about making and forcing out decisions in the Security Council. He added, "There exist so many mistakes in the Tribunal's practices, and this is a very aggressive act. Although I was among the first to advocate for the international Tribunal, I did so on condition that it be disciplined and committed to this discipline."
