When the Wolf is the Shepherd!!!
By: Elias Bejjani

Jesus Christ told the Pharisees who were going to stone Mary Magdalene: “ He who is without a sin, let him cast the first stone”. The Pharisees looked on each other with surprise and confusion, backed off, and headed to their Synagogues. By examining their acts they found that they have perpetrated deadly sins ten folds more then those committed by Magdalene the sinner.

This biblical anecdote should be an example for all the Lebanese puppet officials and mercenary politicians who are calling currently for charging the 203 ex-South Lebanon Army (SLA) defectors with treason. These defectors are Jezzini residents and were for the last 17 years either directly or indirectly engaged with the SLA. After the withdrawal of the SLA from Jezzine, the 203 Jezzinis decided courageously to stay in their homes, city and land exposing themselves to the unpredictability of the Lebanese regime. They voluntarily chose to remain Lebanese, to hold dear to their hearts the Lebanese distinguishable identity and thought mistakenly that the Lebanese judicial system could be trusted. Their conscience was, and still is, in peace, their hands are clean, and not stained with blood. On the other side, most of the regimes officials are in office because they walked their on the corpses of their people.

The people of Lebanon are fully aware of the bloody criminal records for each and every official, leader, dignitary, clergymen and foreign power who are demanding the ex – SLA defectors be put on trial for treason. We ask them all to have a thorough introspective look on themselves in a shiny mirror and dwell deeply into their conscience. If after this self- conscience review they still find themselves innocent and pure as the angels and still believe the SLA defectors should be charged, they should then personally as Jesus Christ said to the Pharisees, cast the accused with the first stone.

The Bible says: Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. All the mockery, theatrical, rhetoric accusations targeting the SLA defectors in fact incriminate those who wage them. The Jezzine residents suffered though the passed 17 years all kinds of hardships while the Lebanese State was refusing to take responsibility for them or for their city. They were forced to carry weapons and defend themselves and their families, it was not their choice. The successive Lebanese governments abandoned them and deserted their city and left them with no other options. They are not traitors or collaborators, they did not sell the country, kill, steal or protect the foreigners’ interests. They are heroes, patriots, honest and real Lebanese who offered all precious sacrifices to protect their values, , identity, land, property and families.

No man on earth is entitled to put the Jezzini residents on trial for treason, especially the mercenary Lebanese officials who abandoned South Lebanon and perpetrated the Israeli occupation. The Jezzinis are the victims of the occupation perpetrated by the Lebanese regime, Syria and the Palestinians who are still conspiring to maintain the status quo as is.

Lebanon is not the first country in history whose people were forced to defend themselves in the absence of law and legitimate authorities, and definitely they will not be the last. The SLA members are not traitors by any legal, human, national or conscience criteria. They should be welcomed back, protected and helped to cope again under the umbrella of the State and not to be persecuted and forced to emigrate once Israel withdraws from the South. There are almost three thousand members in SLA, and if we assume each member has a family of four, then the Lebanese regime is plotting for an ethnical and religious cleansing of at least fifteen thousand Lebanese citizens. This is a crime, and a big one.

The Jezzinis in particular and the South Lebanese in general deserve much, much better then the Beirut regime is offering. They deserve respect, admiration, support and encouragement. They need to be embraced warmly by their state and by their people to make them feel they are welcomed back to their country after years of being held hostage by foreigners, traitors and invaders.

Let us all salute the Jezzinis for their endurance, sacrifices and heroism.
Let us all welcome them back to their 10452-km square great nation.
Let us all ask the installed Lebanese regime officials, and all others who are calling to charge the SLA members with treason, the same question Jesus Christ asked the Pharisee: “Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the log in your own eye".

With AL-Emam Ali Ben-Abi Taleb we ask:
" Who will protect the sheep, if the wolf is the shepherd?".
Long Live Free Lebanon.
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