"Who Does Walid Fear?"
By: General Michel Aoun
(Translated by: Elias Bejjani)

Walid Jumblat is a man of great achievements, of which he has spoken often, openly and proudly. He portrays himself in a manner that cannot be forgotten even by those who suffer severe amnesia.

When asked about the fate of those innocent citizens that his militia kidnapped and detained, he simply answered "no one of them is alive... we killed them all." In a TV interview a few years ago, he spoke about kickbacks and admitted to having accepted bribes when he was in need of money. God knows how many times he was bribed, and how much his estate has grown. In describing the current rulers of occupied Lebanon he said "They are money sharks, including myself." He admitted on TV to be cheating the tax revenue system on an ongoing basis. He bluntly stated "I have two accounting records for my factories and other businesses--a genuine secret one, showing actual profits, and a fake one showing forged figures for deceiving the government."

Walid Jumblat is a prominent minister in the current Lebanese-Syrian government. He enjoys the protection of occupying Syrian troops and in return defends this occupation. Instead of keeping a low profile, Jumblat shamelessly lectures on nationalism and ethics, although he has lost all respect for them. He denies what he says, and accepts what he denies. Opposes in the morning, blesses at noon time, and bows to his occupation masters in the evening. He dreams of partitioning Lebanon, but for disguise maneuvers, projects his dreams onto others. He insults those who refuse treason, and verbally abuses with vulgarity those who call for sovereignty and independence. He threatens his fellow Lebanese citizens viciously with guns and displacement.

In reality, if Mr. Jumblat trusts the people that he claims to represent, he would not have to behave in such a hostile manner and would beg continuously for Syrian protection. The question is: what does Mr. Jumblat fear? Is it his future, his past and present actions or his political affiliations? Or might it be all of the above?

26/9/1997
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