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The Lebanese will never forget those who changed their skin

Elias Bejjani - 10/17/2006

On this 16th anniversary of the terrible massacre committed on October 13, 1990 by the Syrian Baath regime along with Lebanese, regional, fundamentalist, and terrorist forces, the Lebanese Canadian Coordination Council (LCCC) bows in respect and tribute to the souls of the martyrs of the Cedars nation, military, civilian, and men of religion alike, and to the thousands of handicapped and injured. We raise our prayers humbly to Almighty God asking him with the benevolence of Lebanon's saints Charbel, Rafqa, and Hardini, to have mercy on the souls of all those who died in the field of duty. And to nurse the wounds of all sufferers, and for the return of those forcefully displaced from their homes.

From the LCCC we loudly call for the uncovering of the fate of all missing and kidnapped Lebanese citizens detained arbitrarily without any due process in Syrian prisons.For years, Syrian Baath authorities have denied the detainees' existence and refused to give access to the Red Cross to their notorious jails. This same criminal stance of denial was, and still is, adopted by Lebanese officials, politicians, and warlords from the Syrian occupation era.

What is sad and shocking in the midst of this ongoing human rights dilemma is the recent position of General Michel Aoun, the Free Patriotic Movement leader, who for sixteen years was advocating staunchly for the release of these detainees. The General has recently adopted the stance of the Syrian authorities and their Lebanese politician and warlord allies. In a recent TV interview, Aoun has publicly denied the presence of any of his followers and party members in the Syrian jails. His shocking position has raised many bewildering questions and left a sense of disappointment in regards to what many Lebanese believe has to do with Aoun's ambition to be Lebanon's next president at any cost. This outright abandonment could be further understood in Aoun's newly forged alliance with Hezbollah, with Lebanon's Syrian-appointed president General Lahoud, the Lebanese Baathist party allied with Syria, and with the rest of the Lebanese politicians and parties that remain fully loyal to the Syrian Baath regime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlPdszrDP2E

Lebanon, the nation that gave the Alphabet and the science of navigation to the world, and which remained steadfast valiantly and with dignity for 7,000 years, is a nation of sacrifices, eternity, and holiness. This nation is proud of the will of liberation and peaceful resistance, which the Syrian occupation failed to snuff out, and of the great sacrifices offered by its free people during those dark long years. This will to freedom was displayed again in the Cedars Revolution of March 14, 2005 in a popular _expression never before seen in Lebanon’s history.

We salute our heroic martyrs and all the Free Lebanese who fell in defense of honor, sovereignty, and freedom. Meanwhile, we feel sorry for those leaders, politicians and parties who retreated from eighteen years of promises, covenants and national convictions, and abandoned Lebanon's righteous and just cause of sovereignty, freedom and independence. It is sad that they changed their positions with unconvincing rationale and excuses. There is no doubt that they
will be exposed sooner or later, and then there will be tears and gnashing of teeth.


Background

On October 13, 1990 the Syrian Army savagely invaded the last remaining free regions of Lebanon, killed and mutilated hundreds of Lebanese soldiers and innocent citizens in cold blooded murder, kidnapped tens of soldiers, officers, clergymen, politicians and citizens, sent the legitimate government into exile and erected a subservient and puppet government. Since then, the Lebanese people commemorate the painful event each year on October 13.