"Collaborators' Wishes and Cain's Conscience"
 By: General Aoun
 (Translated by: Elias Bejjani)
 12 June 1998

In a press conference held in Paris on May 20, 1998, I clearly specified the Free National Current's objectives and planning strategies for the Lebanese municipal and mayoral elections. It was clearly stated at that time that we rejected all forms of cooperation with regime officials and other collaborators in all parts of Lebanon. I also affirmed that all opposition candidates, wherever they were running for elections, are considered our candidates regardless of whether or not they explicitly declare their commitment to the Current.

Pro-government as well as opposition candidates won in the election. The state-controlled media focused only on the pro-government winners and blacked out completely those from the opposition. It identified opposition winners by their individual names only ignoring fully the opposition Currents, parties or organizations behind their success. Officials controlling the media deceived only themselves by their behaviour because everybody in Lebanon, especially winning candidates and the voters who support them, knows the truth.

 From these facts, it is clear that the collaborationist media publishes and broadcasts with the objective of negatively affecting the Free National Current's morale and instigating splits among its members. These journalists, in a bid to please occupants and officials who pay them, and who wish to see the Free National Current fail, publish and broadcast fake articles and reports about the Current's imaginary failures. Wishing that the Current will disintegrate and disappear, they speak openly about its demise. All of these people are free to write, broadcast, report and wish what ever they want. However, the solid truth remains: the Free Current is strong, active and very popular in all parts of Lebanon and in the Diaspora.

 It is well known that collaborators cannot face free citizens and lack the courage to address the truth. As a result they resort to cheap deceptive maneuvers. They deluded themselves initially that the ³Aounist² phenomenon is a sect, after which they alleged it was created by security and intelligence bureaus. They even preached that the phenomena has collapsed. Their conduct has not been changed for the last eight years and their vicious endeavors to devour the "Aounist" phenomenon have been escalating as they recognize that the phenomena is growing and becoming stronger.

 The Free National Current measures its success through its presence and popularity in all regions of Lebanon and in the Diaspora, through its efforts to liberate both the country and the citizen, as well as its challenge to sectarianism, political feudalism, and corruption. Every free citizen is proud for confronting the dragon personified by these feudalists and Mafias. We can assure all those concerned that the Free National Current is not a mirage or a phenomena on paper. It is a reality, it is in the conscience of the Lebanese people and even though it owns no newspapers, television or radio stations in occupied Lebanon, nobody will be able to muffle its free voice.

 After killing his brother Abel, Cain's conscience haunted him no matter where he tried to escape to. Cain could not hide from his conscience.

 The Free National Current is Lebanon's living conscience. No one can separate conscience from itself. Lebanon's conscience, like that of Cain, will continue to haunt every person that killed or attempted to kill his brother.