Who Judges Whom
By: General Michel Aoun
(Translated by: Elias Bejjani)

In occupied Lebanon, the fifth episode in the trial series of the Lebanese Forces Leader will resume shortly. All issues accompanying this trial or stemming from it should be scheduled for public debate.
It is the duty of every Lebanese citizen involved in public general affairs, with the least ethical and national obligation, to take a clear stand and help put this trial in its true historical and social frame. Emotional feelings and grudges should not be of any influence for a pre-verdict on Dr. Samir Jaja.

The very same acts with which Dr. Jaja has been charged were also committed in excess by his opponents, the officials who put him on trial. They are trying to destroy him through the judiciary system.
The continuing infringements of Lebanese laws have stripped justice of its holistic concept, blurred its fairness, and veiled its equal application to all Lebanese.

I was opposed to the Lebanese amnesty law issued by the Syrian-installed Lebanese regime, and I still am. Bad laws, as well as good ones, are inseparable in their implementation. Puppet officials who were behind this amnesty law have abused it to free themselves from their crimes while putting their opponents on trial for the same crimes. They are manipulating the state's institutions and the people's feelings in order to mask their own crimes.

The other important outcome of this trial is its forgery of history. Small fragments of crimes are publicly uncovered and documented, while major and very serious segments are overshadowed. Currently the Lebanese judiciary is documenting the events of Dr. Jaja's trial, as well as verdicts issued against those charged. It will fall very short of documenting the numerous crimes committed by Syrians and their agents--crimes that did not reach the courts. As time passes, these crimes will be erased from the people's memory. They will be tales interpreted in twisted patterns. This is especially true since the Syrian-manipulated media is promoting gossip and falsifying facts.

For all of the above, we demand the identification and indictment of all those who carried out political assassinations in Lebanon. We insist on uncovering those who planned and masterminded these crimes and those who benefited from them. We need to expose all criminals who committed barbaric massacres in all regions of Lebanon. We can't stay silent as far as history is concerned.

Criminals cannot be judges, and should never be allowed to preside over the trials of innocent people (or even criminals). Occupation forces in Lebanon are confusing roles and reversing values and principles.
Those who advised the Lebanese Forces to go on with the Taef Accord ought to explain to the Lebanese people why they are silent while the Lebanese Forces are on trial through their leader Dr. Jaja. The question is how they can keep quiet while political crimes dominate the country?

Evil has started its self-destructive journey, and the end will not be long. Those who believe that their criminal records have been closed are deluding themselves, because history will continue to judge them long after they are dead.

14/11/1997
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