Out of Fear!!!

The beating that democracy is getting in occupied Lebanon these days is not surprising since it has been going on for the last 13 years under the Taef auspices. The latest round comes with the appointment – by consensus between the puppet regime and its lackeys – of the son of the late MP Pierre Helou who died last week. Many of Lebanon’s current crop of young political leaders are the sons – often with the same names – of former politicians and warlords, which makes the Lebanese political landscape eerily similar to what is was 30 or 50 years ago. And so Henri Helou stands to simply inherit his father’s seat in Parliament, and this time by appointment and not by an election process.

According to the regime, the reasoning behind its decision to appoint rather than have elections is that it wants to avert an “unnecessary internal crisis” during this delicate period for the region. A reasoning that is, by the way, used for any and all actions and reactions by the Taef republic through the years. One has to know the regime’s doublespeak to understand that the “crisis” in question would in fact be entirely caused by the regime itself, as it did last year when it lost the Metn district by-election to the opposition, fraudulently challenged the results of the poll, and then completed the crime by appointing its own candidate instead! Hence the rush this time to appoint their man to the position, thus pre-empting elections in the Aley-Baabda district that they know- if conducted freely and without fraud – would be another embarrassing blow to the regime’s inner sanctum. Their decision stems purely from fear, and not out of concern for the well being of the country.

The political establishment in general and the regime in particular, from the President on down, have all been appointed by the Syrian Baath regime of Bashar Assad. So it is natural for them to invoke similarly ridiculous notions of “Lebanese customs” or “out of respect for the deceased” etc…to deny the Lebanese people their right to elect their representatives. The Zaïms (Lebanese Mafia-style family bosses) have been using these arguments for decades to perpetuate their dominance over the political system and their exclusion of the ordinary citizens of from the political process. This is no longer acceptable in this day and age, and the Lebanese people will no longer acquiesce to the status quo. The wheels of change have been set in motion with the Metn elections and there is no turning back.

NEAL fully urges all FPM supporters in particular and the free Lebanese of the Aley-Baabda district in general to reject the regime’s ploy, and demand that elections be held in which they can practice their natural and constitutional right to choose their representatives. In a recent interview on Radio Lebanon Freedom a FPM activist from the Jbeil (Byblos) district was asked if she was afraid of the Intelligence Services agents and police who were coming to stop her from distributing flyers. Her answer was: “Why should I be afraid of them? They are afraid of me!!!” This has been the case for thirteen years, and this is the case now.

Long Live Free Lebanon