"Syria Devours Lebanon through Terrorism and Extortion"
By: General Michel Aoun
(Translated by: Elias Bejjani)
5 September 1997

The present political, economic and security crisis in Lebanon is the result of the Syrian regime's control over the country. Escalating the confessional dialogue, drowning the country with budget deficits and loans, and burning the southern regions by resistance that has been abandoned by all Arabs are criminal acts designed to kill Lebanon and turn it into a dead body.

The Syrian regime that lacks democracy, freedom, prosperity and justice depends on terrorism, blackmailing and fraudulence to impose public submissiveness. From this context we can comprehend what is happening in Lebanon, as well as in Syria itself:

• When the Syrians decided to assault militarily the Palestinian revolution, they camouflaged their evil acts by maneuvering on the Palestinian cause, and the Lebanese lived that brutal era.
  
• When the Syrians needed to cover their alliance with Iran , they exaggerated in portraying their nationalism and Arabism.
  
• When the Syrians needed to maintain tranquillity and peace in the Golan heights, they struck at Israel from Lebanon instead.
  
• When the Syrians pretend to be concerned over the security of Lebanon, it means that they are trying to hide their scheme to swallow and annex it.
  
• When the Syrians call for protecting the Lebanese unity, their actual intentions are to dissipate this unity.
  
• When the Syrians pressure their Lebanese puppets to go against the nation's patriotic leaders, this indicates that these puppets are involved in wrongdoing, cannot refuse their masters' orders, and accordingly are leashed at their necks like bulls.
  

Terrorism is a basic foundation in the overall Syrian policy at all levels. The Syrian regime is known to be extremely manipulative. While refraining from openly declaring Syria's ongoing plot to annex Lebanon, Syrian Vice president Abdul Haleem Khaddam warned that the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Lebanon would mean the "return of civil war." The Syrians then forewarned that the Israeli conspiracy is going to be initiated from Jezzine in an attempt to disguise their future destructive role and make Israel accountable for the massacres that will take place after the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Jezzine area.. After that, the head of the Syrian news agency SANA demanded that the borders between Lebanon and Syria be removed. All these preparatory stages were topped by cruel media attacks on the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Sfier because he asked the Syrian troops to leave Lebanon and demanded that the country should regain its independence and sovereignty.

In this Syrian imposed milieu of terrorism and intimidation, a prince (Sheik Saeed Sha'ban) threatened to displace the Christians, Mr Walid Jumblat warned of the return of the cannon, while the Syrian Baath party in Lebanon claimed that Sfeir's statements are not in accordance with the spirit of the Apostolic Exhortation.

For all those puppets, and for their masters, we say: Christianity is a religion of sacrifice, commitment and resurrection. Christianity preached the world peacefully, its messengers never used a sword or a cannon, and never were intimidated by all of Rome's lions. They delivered their holy message and defeated by courage and strength of faith all evil powers.

Syrian terrorism is not going to scare the Lebanese people, and this reality is not going to change if the terrorism comes directly from the Syrians or indirectly through their local puppet parrots.

We the Lebanese people shall always bear witness to the truth, and nothing but the truth. We the Lebanese people shall not fall in the Syrian-sponsored trap of sectarianism in Lebanon.. We shall always preach and practice Lebanese nationalism. We shall never, ever compromise in matters relating to the truth even when it hurts. My beloved people of Lebanon, will you carry the whips and start throwing the thieves out of the Lebanese temple?
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