Israel Matzav: The Saniora government is called to order

Sunday, September 02, 2007

The Saniora government is called to order

In an open letter to Lebanese President Fouad Saniora (pictured, top left), Elias Bejjani of the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council questions Saniora's knee-jerk support for Hezbullah out of 'Arab unity.' The context is the near-unanimous condemnation by Lebanese politicians of the Human Rights Watch report that condemned Hezbullah for war crimes. It's refreshing to see someone among the Lebanese think for himself, even if Bejjani is (as I suspect) in Canada.

Hat Tip: Beirut Spring

For Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian agents to protest such a report is expected, but for Lebanese Prime Minister Saniora to join them with an official statement from his office can only be described as self-debasement and a harmful cowing to criminal elements.Has Mr.Saniora forgotten that his cabinet has been described by Hezbollah as the "Olmert and Feltman" cabinet(in reference to the Israeli Prime Minister and the US Ambassador to Lebanon,respectively)? Is the Lebanese Prime Minister ignoring the fact that the "Party of God" continues to accuse it daily of treason,conspiracy,and of obeying the American Satan?

We ask PM Saniora to explain to us the problem he sees with the Human Rights Watch report. Can he contest any of its documented facts and research pertaining to Hezbollah's violation of international laws and its war crimes? Is it reasonable to reward Hezbollah's crimes by continuing to support it so that it destroys what is left of our institutions and force our people and homeland into exodus and return us to the dark ages and barbarism?

No,and a thousand no to self-debasement, fear, lies, dhimmitude and catering to this Iranian fundamentalist group.

Of course Hezbollah is a terrorist organization according to all humanitarian norms of justice, laws, and principles. And yes,it has certainly committed war crimes,not only against Israelis last year, but also against Americans, French and other Westerners in the 1980s,and against thousands of Lebanese citizens who are still refugees in Israel today due to Hezbollah's rule of terror in South Lebanon in the 1990s. Through its war last summer, Hezbollah has caused the death of 1,500 Lebanese citizens, 25 billion dollars of destruction and damages, and the dislocation of a quarter million of our citizens. These actions are certainly war crimes and Hezbollah should be banned and its leadership tried for treason and for each and every crime they committed.

Therefore, the Prime Minster's communiqué criticizing Human Rights Watch is highly objectionable. Our PM has been overwhelmed by his "Arabism" and has forgotten that he is the PM of a cabinet that is supported by all the free world nations. Those nations provide aid to him and his cabinet for the simple reason that he opposes the Syria-Iran-Hezbollah terrorism which is attacking our freedom and democracy in Lebanon and are trying to force us to join their axis of evil and terrorism.

We ask PM Saniora: Shouldn't he consider as terrorism and criminal the possession of 40,000 missiles, the creation of private security zones to which the government has no access, the establishment of unauthorized telecommunication networks and underground financial networks, the occupation of downtown Beirut, the arming of a 20,000-men private army, the opposition to international resolutions, and the refusal to recognize Lebanon's civil society?

Isn't Hezbollah's attempt to control all Lebanon by military force terrorism? If this is not terrorism, what is?

Lebanon's Prime Minister has no right to cover up and justify Hezbollah's actions, and it is becoming clear daily that he has not learned and that he continues to cajole the snake that will soon bite him.

Our criticism of PM Saniora's actions is intended to correct the course and to avoid falling again in the trap of Dhimmitude. It is not a criticism that is meant to bolster Hezbollah or the Syrian-Iranian "coup d'état" in Lebanon. We therefore renew our support to this 100% legitimate government, but Mr. Saniora's mistakes, or near sins, are unacceptable. They escalated from his opposition to enact Security Council Resolution 1701 under Chapter 7, then his rejection of the deployment of UN troops along the Lebanese-Syrian border, then to his cajoling of Parliament Speaker Berry and of Hezbollah, and his laughable criticism of US aid to Israel, and ended with a number of bad decisions his cabinet took such as the elimination of Holy Friday as an official holiday, and the adoption of the Muslim Child rights treaty.

We hope PM Saniora treats Hezbollah for what it is: A deadly cancer attacking everything Lebanese, as well as our existence, our freedoms, our way of coexistence, our democracy, and our civil society. It is time for PM Saniora to stop cajoling fake "Arabism", and start being proud of being "Lebanese First".

Finally, we wish that PM Saniora remember, before making debasing statements, that he is no more "Arab" than the Egyptian president, the Jordanian and Moroccan kings, and the rulers of the Arab Gulf countries, whose nations all recognized Israel and signed peace treaties with it, and ended the state of war, and even conduct diplomatic, economic, and intelligence relations with Israel.