Aoun from South: Martyrs Have Given Us Sovereignty

Aoun from South: Martyrs Have Given Us Sovereignty
Al-Manar, 24/08/2008

Southern Lebanon embraced the head of the Change and Reform Parliamentary Bloc MP General Michel Aoun who’s visiting “the battlefield that witnessed the triumph of Lebanon on Israel through its resistance, army and people,” according to the General.

While in Qana, the site of two Israeli massacres in 1996 and 2006, Aoun laid a wreath of flowers at the tomb of the martyrs, many of whom are children. “We feel sad because we lost our martyrs. We also feel anger, which propagates the revolution spirit against injustice and tyranny. I promise our martyrs that we will preserve their sacred martyrdom,” the General stressed.

Aoun then travelled to the town of Rmeish, the homeland of Army Brigadier General Martyr Francois El-Hajj, and laid a wreath of flowers at his tomb. People from the town and neighboring towns gathered to welcome the General, wearing orange clothes and raising Lebanese and Free Patriotic Movement flags.

The General was accompanied by Vice Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra and Telecommunications Minister Jibran Bassil.

“There are certain people who do not perceive the meaning of human communication, and I hope that the people of Rmeish would represent the good example and the message of living as one, not just coexistence. I have come today to meet you at a time everything has changed, but your hearts haven’t. Our hero, Francois Hajj, was a brother and my companion in tough times. He lived his life defending Lebanon. The Lebanese Army martyrs and the martyrs of the resistance have given us independence and sovereignty,” General Aoun addressed the residents of Rmeish and neighboring towns.

Martyr El-Hajj was assassinated on the morning of December 12, 2007, in Baabda. El-Hajj survived the first attempt in 1976, when the Israeli bombed his car after he refused to join Israeli-backed Lahad militias, the so-called [South Lebanon Army] to fight against the Lebanese army. Israel threatened Hajj with assassination during the 2006 war. He was the candidate to succeed Army Commander General Michel Suleiman who became president.

The General then headed to another "symbol of resistance and victory," the southern Bint Jbeil, where Hezbollah organized a rally to welcome him. He stressed that the sovereignty should be implemented over all the Lebanese territories, "and if some territories remain occupied we cannot say call it sovereignty."

"We should work hard, people and Resistance, to apply a defense strategy that help the establishment of the powerful and judicial state," he said, adding that the memorandum between the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and Hezbollah was just the beginning. He noted that his visit to the South aims to fortify the relations among all Lebanese people, and we will be in Bekaa, Zahle, Mount Lebanon and all Lebanese areas very soon. "We will reach cooperation, brotherhood, and peace if we admitted the differences between Lebanese people," he also highlighted.

Aoun told the Al-Akhbar daily that his visit is to a land that he has missed for 33 long years “and one that has a special ‘flavor’ since it constitutes my return to my town. It is also a commitment since I will be visiting the battlefield that witnessed the triumph of Lebanon on Israel through its resistance, army and people two years ago. It is a tribute to the brave martyrs and the children martyrs.”

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