Statement by the Secretary-Gener

The Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council (LCCC) strongly condemns the heinous and barbaric crime that was committed by the fundamentalist Hamas organization and Hezbollah militants against a religious school students' in Jerusalem. In this immoral act, we see a flagrant violation of all international Human Rights, laws and covenants which prohibit the killing of civilians, or attacking them under any given circumstance. At the same time, we strongly denounce all the commemoration of glorifying, praising and sanctifying of this suicide and homicide atrocity that was publicly uttered and shamefully exhibited in Lebanon and other countries.

It is extremely shocking and disgusting to hear and watch numerous Arab and Iranian officials and well known religious figures praising this murder that targeted a religious school in the Holy City of Jerusalem that took the lives of eight students. It is inhuman and demeaning to see high-ranking religious clerics in Lebanon and other Middle East countries rejoice in the killings of the unarmed students and tag the crime as heroic and martyrdom.

This glorification and praising of terrorism is void of all human values, ethics, and is a bold infringement on the International covenant of Human Rights, and on all laws and regulations that safeguard the rights of civilians in situations of war.

It is worth mentioning that this kind of sickening mentality reflects clearly the current tragedy of Lebanon that can be summarized as an existential conflict between two cultures and educations: The culture and education of death, and suicide, that the Iranian-Syrian fundamentalist Hezbollah armed militia personify, and is trying by all terrorism means to force on the Lebanese people, and between the culture and education of life, civilization, coexistence, love , human rights, peace, democracy and law that are all honored by the majority of the Lebanese multicultural and multi ethnic peace-loving people who are longing for freedom, openness, sovereignty and independence.

The LCCC calls on all free and democratic counties, and in particular, the United States, the European Union and Russia to face the global terrorism challenge that is led by the axis of evil (Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Al Qaeda) and utilize immediately all their human, economic and military resources to eradicate all the roots and branches of fundamentalism and terrorist organizations wherever they exist, and at the same time punish all those countries that sponsor and finance them.

The entire world should know very well and without any doubt that the only language that terrorist groups, states, organizations and individuals, understand and respond to is the language of force, deterrence and decisiveness. Continued military confrontation with global terrorism is inevitable and will become increasingly more complex, more difficult, more costly and more dangerous for the whole world and all of humanity as long as it is postponed or falsely believed that it can be won or contained through diplomacy, persuasion and peaceful civilized means.

*Elias Bejjani
Chairman for the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council (LCCC)
Human Rights activist, journalist & political commentator.
Spokesman for the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation (CLHRF)
E.Mail phoenicia@hotmail.com
LCCC Web Site http://www.10452lccc.com
CLHRF Website http://www.clhrf.com