Syrian Feats in Lebanon – Part IV
By: General Michel Aoun

I knew that one-time media and political amateurs had not evolved beyond the Jahilyyah* (Age of Ignorance) in the content and style of their language, but I never imagined one day that this small group of beginners would impose themselves and their ignorance on all society. They have brought us back to nomadic life as if the culture of the Greeks had not reach us and as if Islam had not arrived to our East. May the Jahilyyah forgive me, but it had its own Hyde Park called Suk Ukaz, in which everyone had the right to express themselves about t heir feelings and ideas. But who said that freedoms in Lebanon are repressed, mouths are shut, eyes are blindfolded, and the judiciary missing in action?? What kind of false claim is this?

Indeed, general freedoms are guaranteed in Lebanon according to the Syrian regime's concept of freedom, and whoever strays away from that definition and uses universal standards and definitions becomes a Zionist…or a "Zionizer". The Sahyoun (Zion) family may have to change their na me in the near future, or else they would be arraigned in a military court. Prosecutor General Addoum's interpretation of the law has made everything possible.

Freedom today is the freedom of the regime loyalists to commit all kinds of crimes. Freedom of expression is guaranteed to the badmouthing insult hurlers, for they are immediately given air time on TV. Those who excel among them are promptly promoted to the highest positions in the media from which they then embark on attacking those who speak their free minds. These attacks can be of any kind from the standard fare: "Treason Lite" and agency on behalf of the enemy, to hardcore Zionism, and everything in between such as moderate Judeo-Christianity. But the unforgivable greatest sin of all remains "harming the interests of Big Brother" who has the unfettered natural right to take over Little Brother.

Since we are showered these days with defamation, slander and libel, we want to recall the attacks on the Lebanese Press in the summer of 1976: Before the attackers left, some newspapers were permanently closed while others were forced to align themselves with the political Dhimmi line imposed by Syria. Perhaps the officials of An-Nahar and L'Orient-Le Jour can tell us how their offices were ransacked prior to their recanting of the accusation of serving the Zionist enemy propaganda that Major General Naji Jamil, the Syrian Deputy Defense Minister, had lobbed against them. We may find a remedy to the accusations against us these days by hearing their story of how they defended themselves.

As to the "freedom to praise" that is intimately coupled with the freedom to be a traitor and an agent, it has become the most popular in the market of political slavery. Those who indulge in praise gain access into the circle of the corrupt and the corrupters. They are inducted into one of the Mafia families, reaping untold fortunes and influence, and are forgiven their scandal-filled files. Whatever happened to those investigations in grand theft, larceny, and embezzlement that were supposedly opened after the swearing-in ceremony? What happened to the monies of the Fund for the Displaced and Refugees? Where is the money of the Fund for the South? The money of the Council for Development?

And then there is the mother of all freedoms: The freedom to kill, assassinate and murder. And we do not mean ordinary crime that security forces combat with whatever resources they have at their disposal. We mean crime that is organized and protected by official agencies and people with influence, and which ranges anywhere from threats to outright murder since each has a specific scenario and objectives.

The explosive that went off at Our Lady of Salvation, killing and maiming many of the faithful, was followed by a climate of terror created by the security agencies under the pretext of maintaining order. Its objective was to accuse the Lebanese Forces, try them in court, then ban them. And so the Lebanese Forces file was opened, Samir Geagea was tried and, even though he was exonerated of this crime, he was imprisoned nonetheless. He remains incarcerated, and to this day no one knows who committed the crime. Yet the repercussions of political terrorism remain hanging over the Lebanese Forces and others to this day, and not even the morally and spiritually protected centers has been spared these repercussions.

The assassination of the four judges in their own court is of another kind of crime. It targeted a Lebanese power that is independent of the agencies and centers of influence in issuing its rulings. However, under the prevailing conditions and the Mafia context, it could not escape for long. And so the crime targeted four judges who were killed as they carried out their duties on the bench in court. Israel was accused of the crime in order to absorb the mounting indignation. When investigations led to the criminal, who lives freely today near the scene of his own crime, the authorities excused themselves from enforcing the law of seizing him and bringing him to justice because he enjoys an immunity given to him by the occupation. After this crime, the Addoumist school expanded its reach within the justice system, which became a tool for liquidating, instead of protecting, people.

A third kind of crime is the one exemplified by the assassination of Elie Hobeika who knew of too much about too many crimes committed in Lebanon and their political and security connections. He became an embarrassing friend, and he had to go before he said too much. The climate was very propitious with the convenience of accusing Sharon of the crime. The investigation file was closed, and Mr. Hobeika took with him to the grave many files that will never open. And who dares today under the occupation to appear in court an d testify in front of a judge?

(To be continued….)
General Michel Aoun

* Jahilyyah is the name given by the Arabs to the time of their history that preceded the advent of Islam. The word literally translates as "Age of Ignorance".