http://www.generalaoun.org/
“We have decided to fight and we are certain that victory will be ours”, he confirmed in April 1989. “If we lose, we will at least have left our children with the right to protect their homeland. In all events, we will never give it away to the Syrians.”
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Crying 'Sellout,' Beirut Christians Rally Against Lebanese Accord:Oct 25, 1989:
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/25/world/crying-sellout-beirut-christians-rally-against-lebanese-accord.html
Thousands of Christians marched, burned tires and shut down businesses in Christian areas of central Lebanon today in demonstrations of support for Gen. Michel Aoun, the Christian who commands the Lebanese Army and who has rejected an accord reached by the Lebanese Parliament to end 14 years of civil strife.
East Beirut, the mostly Christian area of the capital, looked deserted as black smoke billowed from tires set afire by militiamen and soldiers seeking to block the streets. Businesses, schools and universities were closed in observance of a general strike called in support of General Aoun's stand against the agreement, which was worked out during 23 days of talks in the Saudi resort city of Taif.
The accord, which General Aoun described as ''hellish,'' calls for an equal division of the seats in Parliament between Muslims and Christians and an eventual withdrawal of Syria's 40,000 troops in Lebanon to the Bekaa region in the eastern part of the country.
Christian hard-liners led by General Aoun want to preserve the constitutionally mandated Christian dominance in Lebanese politics, despite the growth in the country's Muslim population, and insist that the Syrians withdraw before any reorganization is put in place. 'Syria Out! Syria Out!'
About 15,000 demonstrators holding olive branches, large pictures of General Aoun and Lebanese flags marched at midday to the presidential palace in Baabda, southeast of Beirut, to pledge loyalty to the 54-year-old general, who is barricaded there.
''Syria out! Syria out!'' they chanted. Others burned and defiled the Syrian flag. The 31 Christian members of Parliament who negotiated the Taif pact with an equal number of Muslim legislators were vilified as traitors. ''They sold Lebanon!'' the marchers shouted.
Minutes later, the general stepped out of his bunker beneath the wrecked palace, which has been bombarded by Muslim forces during the heavy fighting of recent months, to address the demonstrators.
''You represent the people's will and hope,'' he said. ''Your presence here constitutes the scrapping of the Taif accord. What has happened in Taif is a mistake.'' The general has threatened to punish the Christian deputies when they return to Lebanon from Taif. Aoun May Be Isolated
But General Aoun's loud and angry rejection of the Taif pact was not supported by other centers of Christian power in Lebanon.
A spokesman for the Lebanese Forces, the major Christian militia, said, ''We are not going to take a stand against the Taif agreement until we study in depth the agreement as it was signed on paper.'' The spokesman added, ''The Christians should act in a realistic manner and seriously consider the international and regional stands on the accord.''
With almost unanimous international support for the peace agreement, the clear inference was that the militia may be prepared to endorse the pact.
General Aoun put his 20,000-strong army on alert on Monday in what press reports described as a defensive measure against possible attacks by the Lebanese Forces. Last February, he began a drive against the Lebanese Forces, ending their domination of the Christian enclave in central Lebanon.
Beirut Government, Facing Rivals, Asks U.S. Arms
By IHSAN A. HIJAZI, Special to The New York Times
Published: Tuesday, January 16, 1990
The Syrian-backed Government of President Elias Hrawi is seeking weapons from the United States to build up its military strength against Gen. Michel Aoun, the Maronite Christian officer who leads most of the country's armed forces, according to Government officials here.General Aoun's troops are superior in equipment and combat readiness to those loyal to President Hrawi.
The officials said a special envoy of Mr. Hrawi was on his way to Washington to submit the request to Bush Administration officials. The emissary, Dr. Ali al-Khalil, Finance Minister in the Hrawi Cabinet, stopped in Paris on his way to the United States.
Dr. Khalil, a Shiite Muslim, was trained in the United States and is a lecturer at the American University of Beirut.
A new army commander, Gen. Emile Lahoud, has begun a recruiting campaign to strengthen his 15,000 troops, who are scattered in Muslim and Syrian-held districts of Lebanon. General Lahoud, like General Aoun and Mr. Hrawi, is a Maronite Catholic.
General Aoun has opened his own recruiting drive for his 17,000-member army, which is based in the 300-square-mile Christian enclave of Lebanon.
A spokesman for General Aoun announced that from today until Feb. 10, women would be allowed to volunteer for military service in his Christian forces. This is the first time that women are being recruited for military duty in this country.
Lahoud Forces Ill-Equipped
The troops now under General Lahoud's command are ill-equipped compared with those loyal to General Aoun. Syria was reported to have supplied General Lahoud with 100 Soviet-built T-54 tanks. According to military officials here, General Aoun's army has 90 American-made M-48 tanks, 75 French-built AMX-13 light tanks and nearly 800 armored personnel carriers, largely American made. Furthermore, the general is known to have received weapons and ammunition from Iraq, reportedly including surface-to-surface missiles capable of reaching Damascus, the Syrian capital.
His forces are also believed to have field artillery and multi-barreled rocket launchers sent by Baghdad.
The growing tension in the country is reflected in daily clashes across the ''green line'' that separates Christian East Beirut from the Muslim West. Firefights broke out again today after Christian and Muslim combatants exchanged rocket and sniper fire for six hours on Sunday. The conflict between General Aoun and the Hrawi Government, installed under a Saudi-brokered agreement in October to end the country's 14 years of civil strife, has led to a ''diplomatic war'' over control of Lebanon's embassies abroad.
Students in Paris Stage Sit-In
General Aoun has instructed ambassadors loyal to him in such key embassies as Washington and Paris not to heed orders from the Hrawi Government to hand over their posts to replacements. Lebanese students in Paris have staged a sit-in at their embassy to protest the transfer of Ambassador Fuad Turk to another post.
The daily newspaper Ad Diyar, published in East Beirut, reported today that Lebanese students in the United States intended to take similar steps to support Ambassador Abdullah Bouhabib. Mr. Bouhabib, a supporter of General Aoun, has said he would not leave the embassy.
The United States, France, Britian, the Soviet Union and other powers have recognized the Hrawi Government, leading to strongly worded attacks from General Aoun.
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/16/world/beirut-government-facing-rivals-asks-us-arms.html?sec=&spon==================================================
US agreed not to block Move by Syria on Aoun
Oct 16, 1990:
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With all eyes on Iraq, Syria got Lebanon free
Oct 17, 1990:
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Revenge Executions
20, Oct, 1990:
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Massacre after Surrender in Beirut:
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EDITORIALS:
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The Betrayal of Lebanon
The Awakening of Lebanon
Dr Pierre Raffoul, 2000:
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BLACK OCTOBER
• THE HIGH PRICE
At dawn on 2nd August 1990 the Iraqi Army entered Kuwait and the whole Middle East entered a new era that would shake up all the Arab countries and realize America’s dream of getting to the oil fields to control them. This new situation will make Lebanon pay a high price.
In August America started its contacts to prepare the atmosphere to enter the area under the cover of the United Nations which became a puppet in its own hands.
America arranged alliances with most of the Arab countries against Iraq that had just emerged from a victory over Iran and entered Kuwait to return it to the mothercountry.
After George Bush decided to send the Marines to Saudi Arabia America’s pressure to push General Aoun out of go vernment and implement the Taif Accord increased.
The American Ambassador in Damascus pressured the Lebanese Christian Deputies to approve the Accord. That took place on the 20th August. September 14th James Baker America’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs visited Syria and met with Assad for a long time and advised him that he had the permission of the American Administration to invade the Eastern Sector of Beirut and have a free hand in Lebanon.
After this agreement the Lebanese Forces joined the camp to coordinate with the Syrians the operation to push over General Aoun and his government and end Lebanon’s free decision. As a result the leadership of the Lebanese Forces started a series of meetings with the head of the Syrian army intelligence in Lebanon Colonel Ghazi Kina’an.
• PEOPLE’S UNITY
When General Aoun refused the imposed proposals of Lakhdar Ibrahimi in their last meeting all contacts between him and the Arab Troica stopped. Instead he started contacts and visits with the Lebanese groups and in all districts. August and September were a busy time with meetings between the Central Bureau For National Coordination and the leaders of the different areas. The meetings concentrated on cooperation and starting a new page among the Lebanese. There was a great response but this response did not reach the stage of implementation because that decision was in the hands of the Syrians who had decided to control the Lebanese decision making processes after getting America’s blessings.
• THE SIEGE
On the 28th September the Walis of the Taif Accord took a decision to lay siege to the Liberated Area. General Lahoud fell into the trap of the dirty temptation. He gave orders to the army under his jurisdiction to completely enforce the siege the purpose of which was either to
force half a million people to surrender and be humiliated or to destroy them of hunger.
After two days Salim El Hoss met with George Bush and his Administration and obtained their approval and support for the steps taken against East Beirut.
The Lebanese Forces took part in the siege. The Christian Deputies exerted pressure to get rid of those who exposed their treachery. Patriarch Sfair with some bishops did not object. The Vatican Ambassador Pointi encouraged and the Ambassadors of other nations turned a deaf ear. Only the French Ambassador did what he could to lift the siege and to find a solution that would save everybody’s face and save Lebanon from fragmentation. He was rewarded by the Taif Gang by not allowing him to cross the Barbeer Crossing. He overcame that trap and walked across.
The Lebanese people in other areas rejected the decision and did what they could about it by providing supplies by secret means. The besieged people responded by calling for a demonstration to cross the crossing points and meet the people on the opposite side and add the pressure to break the siege.
• THE RIVER OF MARTYRDOM
On the first of October the people answered the call of the Central Bureau For National Coordination. The evening movement started at three crossing points - El Dowwar, Museum, and Nahr El Mout. At El Dowwar the Syrian army stopped the people from meeting us but we mixed with the 7th Brigade which was at the point. At the Museum Crossing people were allowed to meet and mix with the men of the 6th Brigade. At Nahr El Mout the Lebanese Forces opened fire with their machine guns.
Tens of people were either killed or injured. From that day on Nahr El Mout became known as the River of Martyrdom.
This massacre did not reduce our enthusiasm. It did strengthen it and we continued our daily trips towards the crossing points.
The crossing points trips worried the Walis of Taif and their masters and they were right in worrying because we agreed among ourselves to start removing the earth mounds and open the roads on the 20th October. They deprived us of picking the fruit of the people’s awakening after fifteen years of hatred and bloody fighting.
• SYRIAN REINFORCEMENTS
From the beginning of the enforcement of the siege the Syrians started to prepare their gun positions and brought in reinforcements at the main entrances to the area under the control of the Constitutional Government.
On the first of October the Director of Public Security General Nadim Ltaif advised the General that there were Syrian reinforcements on the fronts. General Aoun said: “Reinforcements do not frighten us. Even if they had one hundred thousand troops they can not enter because we are in a defensive position, we know the terrain and the positions and we have the experience.”When General Ltaif said: “What would you do if they used their airforce?” General Aoun said: “ In that case it will mean that the Americans have sold us to the Syrians. We will fight as much as we can but we will never accept the Taif. They can break us but we will never sign to hand over Lebanon to them. This way we will keep for us and for our children the right to demand back what was taken from us by force.”
Tuesday the 9th of October we met with some of the leaders of the Syrian Nationa list Party, the Mahairy Wing in the township of Bolonia. We talked about the siege and thanked them for the assistance they give to the people under siege.
In the meeting some of them asked if we have any objection to having a meeting with the Syrians. This request we made several times before by the Wa’ad Party and we always welcomed the idea but the Syrians always refused. We said: “We are prepared.
You know that the Eastern Sector which has a majority of Christians for the first time under General Aoun asks for cordial relations with Syria provided it is between equals and in an atmosphere of mutual respect.”
Another one of them asked, “ In case they agree what would be your programme?”
We answered it will be announced at the time but will have to be in the frame work of sovereignty, freedom and independence.
We went back to Ba’abda and told the General what happened. He said, “ I doubt very much that the Syrians will accept to meet with you.” The following morning I had a meeting with the General whe n we discussed the situation fully. It was very clear that the Syrian army was in a complete state of preparedness with convoys of tanks moving towards the besieged area. General Aoun’s comment was: “ So far we have won ten days, the operation against us was supposed to finish at the end of September.
Then he sighed and said, Carrying the cross is expected. We might even reach Golgotha. That is fine but surely the reserruction should be coming”.
With the approach of the impending disaster the Lebanese people were split between those who wanted to demand their right to free and honorable living and those who were willing to surrender to force and agree to the sale of Lebanon to the occupying force.
The people led prayers, demonstrations and rallies. The Antonine Brothers and the Jesuits along with a number of priests and monks led a demonstration to protest against the siege and the imposition of solutions by force without consulting the people. Leaders like Danni Chamoun, head of the Lebanese Front, the first Lady Joyce Gemayel, Salim Bey Karam, and Dr. Fouad Abu Nadhir and others rallied in Ba’abda to show again their solidarity with the rescue proposal. On the opposite side were the appointed walis, Patriarch Sfair and his followers, Samir Geagea, George Sa’adeh, and some of the deputies waiting impatiently for the hour of attack on Beit El Sha’ab in Ba’abda to rid themselves of the “ nightmare” as they called General Aoun.
The Papal Nuncio Pointi asked the nuns at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Hazmieh to leave the area before Saturday the 13th October 1990. Abbot Boulus Na’aman assured one of the sisters at the Lebanese Hospital at Ja’itawi that the crushing of the one in Ba’abda will be in the next few days. She was annoyed with him and said “ But wewill remain here.”
• CLOSING THE LINE OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE VATICAN
The Carmalite sisters were among the sisters who had the confidence of the Pope and were in contact with him all the time to advise him about what was happening in the countries where they operated. From their monastry in Harissa they were supplying his Holiness the news of what was happening in Lebanon and to its people. We were sure he was aware of what was happening in Lebanon. We were also sure that Ambassador Pointi who was down to his ears in the plot would not by his reports be able to falsify the facts.
In the first week of October 1990 one of the sisters contacted the Vatican to speak to his Holiness or his private secretary. The answer came that it was impossible. The sister said “ But that was always possible.” She was referred to an office where she was told bluntly and roughly that from that day on all matters related to Lebanon would be handled by that office and hung up. The sister reported that to the General and said she was afraid something terrible was going to happen to Lebanon.
• AN APPOINTMENT OR A TRICK
Thursday Oct. 11th Assa’ad Hardan, the secretary of defence with the Syrian Nationalist party contacted one of our group and advised that an appointment had been arranged to see Ghazi Kina’an the morning of Saturday October 13th at Anjar where we could also meet other Syrian officials.
We advised the General about the appointment and it was agreed that the delegation be made up of myself, Roger Azzam, and Joseph Ghossain Abu Elias. As a matter of fact the appointment on 13th October was a trick as it did not take place and it was the date of the attack. We learned this from General Emile Lahoud whom we visited at the Military Baths after the fall of Ba’abda. He told us that General Hikmat Shahabi and Colonel Ghazi Kina’an visited him on Thursday and told him that the attack was planned for the dawn of Saturday and he was the only Lebanese to know about it and asked him not to tell any body including Hirawi. They also asked him to restrict the army and have it ready to take part in the attack. They also told him that they had given an appointment to the Central Bureau for National Coordination the same day to camouflage it. He also added that he could not stand what they said to him and could not tell anybody. He then contacted his friend at the French Embassy the military attache and told him that their friend the General would soon be pushed over.
He answered that no one could push the General over and his information as usual was wrong. Lahoud’s answer was that his information was correct and the attache had to contact his government about it. The attache contacted his government and was told they knew nothing about it.
In the afternoon of the 11th October a Syrian military plane broke the sound barrier and flew at a very low level above the Presidential Palace. The army chased it with the anti air craft batteries. When they told the General about the plane he said it was a bad omen. He then gave orders to the army brigades to be ready and called on the people of Lebanon to mobilize. The people answered the call of the General and arrived at the Palace in their thousands. The church bells were ringing the mourning Toll and the rally started all over again. Between the evening of Thurday and the evening of Friday Elie Hobaika contacted some of our group several times and assured them that the meeting that will take place on Saturday will be an important meeting. Pierre and the men have to carry with them a clear proposal for solving the problem.
• THE PILATE PONTIUSES
Friday october 12th the role of Pilate Pontius was repeated. Every body washed his hands off the crime to be committed against Lebanon. America announced its opposition to any military action. Israel announced it will not accept a Syrian military intervention against Aoun. Its air force plane flew over Ba’abda. This was interpreted by some as a warning to Syria. The deceived France demanded explanation about what was happening and got a false answer that there was no American green light for a military attack. As a matter of fact the invasion of Ba’abda took place under an American blessing, an Israeli silence and carried out by Syria with the participation of the Lebanese Forces and the Taif puppets.
• THE ASSASINATION ATTEMPT
Friday afternoon the yards of the Palace were full of people. The Lebanese Forces snipers, their artillery and their rocket launchers opened fire. The General came out to address the people. As he opened his mouth to say, Great People Of Lebanon” some one among the crowds called Francois Hillal opened fire with his military hand gun and fired four shots at the General. The bullets went above him, under him and in front of him. The dias that was made of reinforced steel and bullet proof material protected him. I was standing near him. I pushed him back and the officers covered him with their bodies and carried him to a safe place. The attempt killed one of the attendants. The commandos officer captain Shamel Rookoz jumped down and rescued Francois Hillal before the people could tear him to pieces. Francois Hillal was a member of the Syrian Ba’ath Party, a Shi’ite from South Lebanon but carried the Australian citizenship. He was a good marksman. He was arrested but the General gave orders that he should not be beaten but handed over to the proper authorities for investigation.
After few minutes the General returned to the dias and greeted the public and gave a moving speech and asked the people to go home. His call was interpreted as precaution against the heavy shelling of the Lebanese Forces.
Friday evening the people returned to the palace to wish the General well and congratulate him on his safety. We were on the ground floor. All reports indicated the attack will take place. All the time the General kept his composure as a tough leader not worried by danger. He also kept his stand despite all the threats and pressure.
He approached me and asked if we were going to the meeting the following day. I told him we agreed that I go on my own and asked if I had made the proper arrangements for the trip I told him I was going to sleep in Ba’abdat and the following morning go to the Dowwar accompanied by some of the Commandos troops. At Dowwar some of the Syrian Natioalist men will take me to the home of Assa’ad Hardan who will accompany me to Anjar. After a moment he said: “ I am not happy about this meeting. But let us trust in God and do whatever we can to get our opinion and beliefs across to all the people”.
• A PLAN FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM
I had a meeting with the General and his media advisor Yousif Andari and had a final look at the proposal I was going to take with me. It can be summarized in the following :
1- Disarming all the militias permanently
2- The army was capable of keeping law and order and the government authority
3- Stopping all steps taken to implement the Taif Accord
4- Holding a public opinion referendum about the Taif, holding free elections under Arab and international supervision. The elected parliament would study the Accord and decide about it and carry out any reforms required.
5- Good and strong brotherly relations with Syria based on the frame work of sovereignty, freedom, and independence for our two countries with mutual respect.
• THE ATTACK
The morning of the 13th October 1990 the Syrian forces invaded the Liberated Area supported by the guns of the Lebanese Forces in a very heavy barrage of shelling that lasted till the afternoon. The General moved to the French Embassy as requested by the French Ambassador Rene Aller as a condition imposed by Hirawi and his pretend government for a cease fire. It was agreed to have a cease fire with the French Ambasador being the mediator. After that General Aoun called on all the military establishment saying “ To stop bloodshed and destruction and to save what is left I ask the Lebanese army to take orders from now on from General Lahoud.”
General Aoun lost and he accepted defeat but he did not sign the handing over of Lebanon. He could not go back to the Palace where his family and his supporters and his army were because of the arrival of the Syrian army at the Presidential Palace and the roads around it. General Lahoud contacted Colonel Michel Abu Rizk Commander of the Republican Guard that he would be arriving at the Palace and the Syrians would not enter the Palace and the Ministry of Defence. General Farah from the Ministry of Defence called General Lahoud and told him the Syrians were going to enter the Minsitry of Defence. Lahoud assured him that will not be. Lahoud never reached the Palace or the Ministry of Defence.
The Syrian army entered and ransacked every thing and settled in it, captured a group of the best army officers and took them to the Mezzeh Prison in Syria.
General Aoun handed over to General Lahoud but never recognized Hirawi or his government.
The Shiite Mufti of Lebanon Abd El Amir Abalan said: “ Michel Aoun is a lion and the others are all foxes.” He said this on the 13th of October 1990.
By Pierre Raffoul. Translated into English by George Khoury
Copyright © The Lebanese Co-ordination Bureau, Victoria 2000
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October 13, 1990
“The Story of the Last 48 Hours”
Nadim Freiha
Translated to English by: May Akl
Thursday October 11, early in the morning:
The sun had just risen on Baabda when alarming information began converging from different fronts. Lebanese army observation posts commanders, one after the other, started sending alarming reports: the Syrian army, in an unusual troop movement, was dispatching men and equipment towards the front.
Army intelligence service working behind enemy lines had reportedly cancelled vacation leaves of Syrian soldiers and officers and ordered of rallying at the camps. They watched the tanks slowly leave the Syrian barracks and approach the different fronts. Wrapped in clouds of dust and particles of fuel oil, the Soviet-made tanks headed to Souk El Gharb, Aley, Aïroun, Dahr el Wahch, Monteverde, Kfarchima and the Beirut Southern Suburbs in a deafening racket. All day long, Syrians progressively mounted their troops to front lines separating them from the Lebanese army. Lebanon was about to witness the darkest 48 hours of its history:
At the beginning of the week, the Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon, Monseigneur Puente, paid a visit to general Aoun to inform him of the Pope’s concern about an imminent Syrian intervention and fear of bloodshed. He urged the General to avoid the battle by taking part in the Taef-emerging government or by stepping down. The General answered he could not resign in order to avoid the unavoidable.
The right to resist an occupying force was the gain of this already lost battle. A right the Lebanese resistance could eventually boast about in any later step before the international authorities in order to get the Syrians out of Lebanon. Without a front battle opposing the two armies, the Syrians would once again pretend facing a “Lebanese Civil War” they came to “solve upon the request of the Lebanese”! Taef would furthermore be imposed by arms instead of being adopted by voting. It lost then all legitimacy for lack of having gained some legality.
However, General Aoun made it clear to his speaker that, from the beginning of the Syrian army engagement in the battle and given the inequality of forces and the Israeli-American green light, he was going to demand a cease-fire and declare his defeat. In fact, it was the only means for Lebanon to keep its right and avoid a large death toll. He would thus gain politically what he would lose militarily.
At the Baabda presidential palace, information concerning a Syrian intervention coincided and became clear. The wife of a former president of the Republic reported her conversation with the British ambassador in Lebanon, “Syrians will intervene with their aviation”.
More importantly, on the table of the Lebanese Army High Commandment in Chief was a copy of the minutes of the Taef-collaboration Cabinet. It gave an account of the formal demand of Syrian-hired man in charge of defense, Albert Mansour; a demand in which he proposed the intervention of the Lebanese army pilots under his and Christian Lebanese militias’ command to bombard their own weapon companions in Baabda. This would suit Syria who wanted to show to the international public opinion an inter-Lebanese conflict rather than a Syrian-Lebanese conflict. This attempt failed on the spot as all pilots refused to execute such an order.
On the military level, Syria had no choice in order to eliminate Aoun but to reveal its intentions and take part in the eviction battle. All other options had failed. Indeed, the battle engaged by interposed militias did not lead to its goals (Souk el Gharb battle opposing the Army and the PSP in August 89 and the war opposing the Army and the Lebanese Forces in February 1990). Neither any other militia nor Lahoud’s army, that was formed hastily and lacked motivation, had the ability to achieve such an important task.
Thursday October 11, around 11.30 am:
Syrian « Sukhoys » flew over free regions at low altitude and pass over Baabda. The appearance of Syrian fighters carried many messages:
- A political message: From now on, it was clear that the United States and Israel had authorized Syria to intervene on the ground. Never before could the Syrian aviation fly over the Lebanese territory without being hunted and brought down by Israeli aviation. The red lines suddenly became green and the tacit understanding between Israelis and Syrians about sharing Lebanon could not be more explicit.
- A military message: Flying over free regions meant locating the spots before an imminent intervention.
From then on, the dices were thrown and everything went wrong!
While military preparations were underway, Syrians, Israelis and American diplomacy undertook subversive actions in order to fool the Lebanese and some Western embassies such as France’s. The latter had huge abilities to mobilize opinions and everyone remembers the arrival of some 40 French deputies to Baabda, among which François Léotard, in order to face the first Syrian threat a day after Hraoui’s ultimatum issued on 26 November 89.
Received by the Taef government, Monseigneur Puente thus declared, “Today, I am more optimistic than ever”. Uri Lubrani, Israeli activities coordinator in Lebanon declared the next day on October 12 that the red lines were still standing. A State Department official who wished to remain anonymous said that day to the AFP about the Syrians: “we certainly do not give them the green light”. As for the Syrians, they remained completely silent about their mobilization. Ghazi Kanaan believed he was fooling General Aoun when he set an appointment with Pierre Raffoul , coordinator of the CBNC (Central Bureau for National Coordination), on Saturday October 13 at 6 in the morning.
However, no one in Baabda could be fooled. Intelligence service reports gave a precise inventory about the equipment and Syrian infantrymen gathered on the front. These forces had been mobilized for an operation that would take place in the next 72 hours and the Syrian aviation would intervene every time the attack faces resistance, reports indicated.
Between 8 and 10 pm, a general alert was issued. General Aoun warned Dany Chamoun, president of the Lebanese Front, and other members of the Front of the dangerous situation.
Locals of free regions did not take a long time to react and began ringing church bells for mobilization. All night long, locals left their homes to join the Baabda Presidential Palace, the symbol of resistance.
Slowly, they formed a human shield against Syrian tanks. They had the faith, for a few months ago their heroic action alone had stopped at the last minute the Syrian invasion.
Meanwhile, General Aoun and his counselors were busy writing and sending letters to top international officials such as Bush, Gorbatchev, John Paul II and François Mitterrand. Members of the Lebanese Front made contact with foreign diplomacy representatives in Lebanon.
At night, General Aoun mingled with the demonstrators. He explained how each time Syria committed a big crime, it would commit another one much bigger to cover up the first one. He gave many examples such as the assassination of Druze leader Kamal Jumblat and the following massacres in the Chouf. He finished with a premonitory sentence “there are still two crimes Syria did not commit yet, kill me, and invade Baabda”.
Friday October 12, in the morning:
The General and the Lebanese Front held a meeting at around 10 am. Members of the Front reported talks easing the tension coming from different embassies.
That morning, intensive political and diplomatic contacts continued as the crowd camped in front of the presidential palace. Nothing could damage the demonstrators’ spirits, even the intensive bombardment from East-based militias. Syrian planes flew over again that morning.
Friday October 12, in the afternoon:
While General Aoun was speaking to the crowd, gunshots were heard within the confines of the palace. The bullets nearly missed their target and fatally hit Joseph Raad, a guard member.
The crowd attacked the gunman while the General’s bodyguards pushed him to the ground to protect him. At this moment, everyone feared a group of terrorists might be present within the palace. The army fired gunshots in the air to part the crowds and isolate the assassin. Worried about saving the life of the assassin, the General shouts to Chamel Roukoz, an officer who rushes to subdue the gunman “Save him, save him!”.
François Hallal was saved! He later admitted being sent by Abdallah Al Amine, based on the Syrian intelligence orders. The assassin was “recuperated” the next day by the Syrian troops and appeared during a press conference next to Abdallah Al Amine.
The General finished his speech with a confident voice but a sad face. He begged citizens to go back home for their own security. It was time for separation!
However, Aoun’s government did not abandon the negotiations. It was out of question to make it bear the responsibility of breaking unilateral negotiations to justify a military intervention. At around 9 pm, he met for the last time Dr. Pierre Daccache accompanied by intelligence chief Amer Chehab. The General signed a 9-point ultimate compromise that reads as the following:
1- The lifting of the blockade
2- The recognition of Hraoui
3- The resignation of both the government of Aoun and Hoss simultaneously
4- The formation of a credible and representative National Union government negotiated by a common agreement
5- The dissolution of militias, then
6- The unification of the army
7- The abstention from nominating new deputies
8- Holding free legislative elections under international monitoring (under the aegis of the UN for example)
9- The ratification of constitutional reforms
Once signed, the document would be personally delivered by Dr. Daccache to ambassador René Ala who would then give it to Hraoui… who never answered!
The Syrians were not in a hurry to accept a pacific solution to the Taef problem. Aoun recognizing Hraoui did not suit them after all for the whole process should ultimately get the people’s approval (according to the 8th point) before any ratification. General Aoun had once again revealed the true Syrian intentions. Taef, as it was, was nothing but a trap, some kind of a disgusting democratic package to cover the worse form of dictatorship and occupation!
The night of October 12 ended with a meeting between the General and the Lebanese Front. During this meeting, the General received from his officers a document of a rare precision: a copy of the operation order sent by the Syrian headquarters to their officers. It indicated the exact time at when the operation would start. Other night envoys conveyed the same message.
General Aoun finished his meetings and went to bed at midnight. In his mind, he had already well planned the day of October 13. As soon as the Syrian aviation would launch its missiles, he would declare himself beaten and sign a cease-fire. As already indicated to Mgr Puente, he would thus save the right for Lebanese to ask for the departure of occupation troops. The intervention of Syrian aviation being the most important proof of interference and occupation Syria could give at this moment of History. The cease-fire and the transfer of power would avoid bloodshed. It was in this context that the General, and at the great surprise of observers, did not mobilize his reserve troops on the front (elements of the 8th brigade).
As for his own fate, he had already discussed it that same evening with a priest who came to visit him « they can kill me but I will not sign the Taef agreement ».
However, his family posed him problem. Baabda being a military target, he and his counselors tried to convince his wife to leave the Palace. But no reason in the world and no army could convince a woman to leave her husband! The Aoun family stayed behind the father until the end…
Saturday October 13, 6 in the morning:
On the other side of the front, a deserter General stood to attention ready to go into the occupant’s wake to attack his troops. He impatiently waited for the Syrian aviation supposed to arrive at 6 am.
He waited a long time, as he did not understand yet that Lebanon lived from now on according to the Syrian time. There was a one-hour difference between Damascus and Beirut due to the shift to wintertime. He had to wait until 7 for the Syrian aviation to start its operation.
General Aoun was already standing when he heard the Syrian fighters fly over Baabda and bombard the region. In a few moments, Syrian cannons unloaded their salvo of tens of thousands of shells on the free regions. Shells coming from Kessrouan also hailed along with Syrian shells.
At 7.30: All the fronts resisted the Syrian attack. General Aoun contacted the French ambassador, a privileged witness to the events, to inform him that the 9-point rescue plan was already dead. According to plan, he considered himself beaten and asked René Ala to negotiate a cease-fire with relevant authorities. The General asked to meet with an official representative of Lahoud’s army to transfer the power. It was out of question to have one Syrian get through the region.
The Syrians, however, had another plan in mind. Beyond Taef, they wanted to break the Lebanese army and enter to the very heart of the Defense ministry and the presidential palace to help themselves to the whole archives and documents. They would fool René Ala. Hraoui would, for this reason, ask the French ambassador to make sure the General was present at the French embassy at the declaration of the cease-fire. Hraoui thought that the General being present with such a witness (the ambassador) was enough to keep him from any military subterfuge and giving counter-orders.
The ambassador Ala called the General at 8 in the morning and informed him of the new conditions. He had to go to the French embassy. The General hesitated and asked for some time to think. Not having the upper hand, he decided to go to the embassy for the cease-fire even if it meant going back to the palace for the transfer of powers. He rode an armored M113 and headed to the French embassy under intensive bombing.
There he discovered the new conditions of the Hraoui-Lahoud-Mansour team: have the transfer of powers through a press release without having already signed a cease-fire!
General Aoun signed the release and even before its broadcast on the Lebanese radio, between 8.30 and 9, he asked Amer Chehab (intelligence service) and Jean Farah (in charge of operations room) to execute Lahoud’s orders.
At 8.30 in the morning, all fronts still resisted despite the extremely violent attacks. The Syrians had undergone great losses. Burning tanks could be seen from a long distance. Syrian losses were estimated at around 400 to 800 dead.
Although the release was read, Taef authorities returned to the fray and asked the General to read the message himself (instead of the radio broadcaster). The General recorded the power transfer message at 9: he clearly asked the military to obey the command of General Lahoud. It would later be broadcast on the Lebanese radio. General Lahoud declared the cease-fire at 9.30, almost 2 hours after General Aoun’s proposal to cease fire (7.30). Many victims died in the mean time!
As of this moment, General Aoun stopped communicating with anyone. He gave back his radio equipment to the French ambassador. Taef authorities would keep him from going back to the presidential palace for the transfer of power. Meanwhile, generals Abou Jamra and Maalouf arrived at the French embassy. By some miracle, there were no victims. After 2 in the afternoon, General Aoun’s family was evacuated from the Syrian-occupied presidential palace to join the French embassy.
General Aoun, thus, had never gone to the French embassy to seek asylum as Taef authorities repeated. He had gone there based on the demand of the Taef authorities, as the French ambassador confirmed to the October 24, 1990 issue of L’Orient-le-jour.
Furthermore, René Ala had won the approval of the Taef authorities to have a helicopter move the three generals (Aoun, Abou Jamra and Maalouf) that same day to Cyprus where a French-army Falcon Mystère awaited. The plane waited 48 hours on the Cypriot soil before taking off.. empty! General Aoun could not leave his forced residence until a year later on August 29, 1991 through “Hortensia” operation.
Unfortunately, the story did not end at the cease-fire that was never respected. While the Lebanese army waited for General Lahoud’s troops to surrender, Lahoud never came and unexpectedly the Syrian army arrived instead. The Lebanese soldiers were left to face their own fate.
Disregarding the cease-fires and the Geneva conventions, the Syrian army took to the worst ill-treatment and massacres. Between 9.30 and 2pm, more than 120 soldiers and officers and tens of civilians were executed on all fronts such as Bsous (16 executed civilians), Tallet Tamz (4 hanged soldiers), Dahr el Wahch (30 executed soldiers), Beit-Mery/Deir el Kalaa (2 priests, one cook and 10 soldiers executed). These massacres were executed after the soldiers had surrendered. More than 25 soldiers are still reported missing, probably imprisoned in Syrian jails for more than 14 years now.
This is how ended one of the darkest days of Lebanon’s history. However, survivors have kept two promises that day in the memory of those who left this world: keep fighting for Freedom, Sovereignty and Independence because victory belongs to those who fight relentlessly and with determination. The second promise was to keep this page of our History open as long as those responsible for these crimes against humanity are still free and untried. It is the same for crimes committed between 1975 and 1990.
Christian, Muslim and Druze mothers will eventually come to terms with the fact that their children did not die because of their religion but because they were simply Lebanese.
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October 13, Our October, their mockery
By Dr Pierre Raffoul:
Our October is pride and self-confidence, theirs, subservience and crawling;
Our October is dignity and loyalty, theirs, collaboration and treason;
Our October is abundant product, theirs, destruction and ruins;
Our October is the coming Lebanon; theirs, the departing one;
Our October is martyrdom, theirs, abdication of responsibility;
Our October is heroism, theirs, cowardice and surrender;
Our October is righteousness and honesty, theirs, deceiving and lying;
Our October is a strong nation; theirs, a corrupted and crippled one;
Our October is freedom, theirs, slavery and humiliation;
Our October is determination and strong will, theirs, frustration and submission;
Our October is vigilance and virility, theirs, lethargy, apathy and sluggishness;
Our October is a struggle for liberation, theirs, a cover and disguise for the occupant.
On October 13th, 1900, the night Syria invaded Baabda Palace, "people's house"(presidential palace), all reports indicated the attack was inevitable. During the last critical hours and in face of difficult stances, General Michel Aoun was able to be himself, an outstanding leader with a solid will and deep rooted faith. He proved to be a leader whose leadership capabilities never shake because of fear and intimidation. He stood bravely and truthfully by his national stances and did not give to pressures and threats.
Last week, General Aoun, the leader, from his exile in France said: "Lebanon the sovereign and independent state was assassinated on October 13, 1990, but it is still alive in souls, conscious and hearts of all patriots. Lebanon preserved and proved its right in existence. That day it was planted again in a sacred soil watered and enriched with its martyrs' blood, heroes' sweat and its mothers' and orphanages' tears…I am sure time is getting so close for this great Lebanon to yield an abundant national crop. This is our faith, the ongoing Lebanese faith for the last 6000 years, from the Phoenix to the resurrection and eternity legend"
Long Live Lebanon
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We heard it Ten years ago
By General Fayez Karam:
In 1990, His Excellency PM, General Michel Aoun stood tall like the cedars of Lebanon and told the Lebanese people openly, simply and courageously that the "Taef Accord" is not the solution for their problems. He cautioned from dragging the nation into others expansionism ambitions, grudges and opportunistic conflicts. He also cautioned the "Taef Accord" will lead ultimately for the destruction of all governmental institutions, principles, ethical codes, the people's right in their own country and will shake badly the dignity of national affiliation.
Ten years later we hear clergymen; politicians, journalists and dignitaries repeat Aoun's cautions and focus on Lebanon's unpredictable fate under the current occupational-puppet reign. The main difference between today and ten years ago lies in the fact that Lebanon is currently in hell and that rhetoric statements and fake decries serve no purpose. All these warnings mean simply that those who utter them recognize fully the misery, pain, slavery and confusion status prevailing since 1990, but surprisingly still cajole and falter the Syrian occupier.
These decries are a delayed recognition for General Aoun's cautions in 1990,
A plain recognition the officials' have committed a horrible crime by abandoning the Lebanese right in a dignified life,
A recognition officials have abandoned the Lebanese legitimate right in a free independent nation. A nation that was founded 6000 years ago by our great grandfathers' resistance, sacrifices, faith and struggle,
A recognition collaborating officials and politicians have betrayed their people and accepted an accord that does not serve Lebanon's interests,
A recognition, Lebanese-Syrian-installed officials and leaders have abandoned the ambitions and dreams of the Lebanese and betrayed the future of the coming generations.
All these on going rhetoric cautioning stances uttered by collaborators humiliates the Lebanese patriotism and underestimates their intelligence. These mockery stances are illustrated in a popular Lebanese proverb that says: " When I am drawing, why should I worry if my cloth would become wet or not?"
Because of the "Taef Accord":
Lebanon has become an occupied country and lost its free decision making process,
Lebanon's demography was destroyed, its history eradicated and its identity forged.
Because of the "Taef Accord":
The Lebanese citizen is loosing every thing and drawing in the occupation mud,
His money is stolen, His job is given to foreigners, forced to immigrate,
His identity sold in auctions,
His property confiscated,
His blood shed,
His dignity humiliated,
His human rights infringed on,
His freedom muffled,
His future mortgaged.
The Lebanese is a victim of his officials and leaders because the installed regime is a mask for the collaborator's thievery, treason, embezzlement and all Mafia-like activities,
The Lebanese is a victim of his regime because his fate is unknown, his future is mortgaged and his choices forged,
The Lebanese is a victim of his regime because criteria for right and wrong have been confused. Criminals are tagged as heroes and patriots as traitors,
The Lebanese are victims of their installed officials who are like robots, alienated and imprisoned in the mud of their treason.
The Lebanese are victims for their officials who made out of the oath, anthem and patriotism empty rhetoric slogans,
The Lebanese are victims of a regime whose main mandate is to cajole and flatter the occupier.
Is Lebanon witnessing a stage of peace or a stage of silence and tranquility?
Is it a stage manipulated by Syrian bothers and Israeli enemy's' coalition?
Is it a stage fully dominated by a stumbled Israel-Syrian negotiation process through which Lebanon is used by both countries as an arena for their dirty wars and maneuvers?
Are our officials and leaders waiting to take courageous patriotic stances? If so, waiting for what and till when?
Are our officials aware they are selling Lebanon, betraying its people, destroying its sovereignty and eradicating it from the Middle East map?
Beirut regime's puppet officials have abandoned Lebanon's right and legitimacy in the Middle East Peace negotiation process. They have mortgaged Lebanon's options, choices and free will in a bid to protect Syria's interests. Their decisions are merely dictated on them by Syria who appoints, reprimands, promotes, imprisons and fires them according to Syrian needs. They priorise Syria's interests blindly on those of Lebanon and with no shame.
These mercenary officials are like robots execute with no conscience exactly what their masters order them to do. All that appeals to their sick minds is the official status and the individual gains come with it. They ignore the fact that authentic leadership is honesty, integrity, devotion, loyalty, benevolence, courage and intelligence… they do not possess any of these traits.
We declare openly and loudly the current Lebanese Syrian-installed officials, politicians and dignitaries do not represent the Lebanese ambitions, hopes, aspirations or choices. They represent the Syrian occupier who installed them. Ten years after the "Taef Accord" was imposed on our country, we reiterate our patriotic stance and loudly say: We did not recognize this accord in 1989, and still we do not have any rational to change our stance. The "Taef Accord was a venomous recipe forced into our throats to kill us. We refuse to die, we refuse to surrender, we refuse to sell our country, we refuse the "Taef imposed status quo.
The only act that changes our opposing is the withdrawal of all foreign troops from our beloved country and a democratic, secular, free system in which the dignity of each and every Lebanese is honored and all freedoms guaranteed.
Long Live Free Lebanon
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Oct, 13 1990 Crimes
By General Aoun:
On October 13th every year, patriotic Lebanese get together wherever they live to solemnize the memory of Lebanon's beloved martyrs who offered their lives on the battlefield of honor. They sacrificed themselves defending their people’s dignity and their country’s sovereignty and independence. With the commemoration we envisage in our minds, souls and hearts, the martyrs holy faces and we sense their presence among us. With them we live the actual meaning of the event and renew our covenants and the promise to follow in their steps and to keep the liberation torch lit till Lebanon is free from of foreign troops. These troops have occupied our land, disturbed our stability, ransacked our national resources, confiscated our decision making process, made us strangers in our own country and enslaved our people. The occupation has installed a group of mercenary Lebanese politicians assigned to execute their atrocities and cover their criminal acts
Nine years have passed and the Syrian regime is still trying to erase the October 13th event from the Lebanese memory. Its devious, innovative mind lead its dictator last year on October 13th, to ratify the Lebanese constitution and appoint a puppet Lebanese President ready to hand over what is left of the country. He also frequently orchestrates circus-like events in a bid to make the Lebanese forget the crimes committed against them on October 13/1990. On that day Syrian invading troops after an official truce was declared, massacred innocent Lebanese civilians and soldiers in the towns of Bsous, Daher El-Wahesh, Daier El-Kalaa, and Telet Tomrouz. Hundreds were brutally arrested as well and transferred to Syria. The whereabouts and fate of most of them is still unknown.
All the Syrian crimes against the Lebanese were not committed on the battlefield, but definitely after the truce was officially declared. All Syrian, Lebanese and international law condemns such crimes. The Lebanese-Syrian installed President at that time turned a blind eye on all these horrible crimes and did not order any kind of investigation. Instead, he paid an official visit to Damascus to honor the invaders’ martyrs and laid a wrath of flowers at their military cemetery. He betrayed the Lebanese martyrs who gave their lives defending Lebanon's military oath and honor.
The Lebanese Army Commander committed the same crime when he started his leadership at the Yarzie Defense Ministry headquarters. He turned a blind eye on the crime of assassinating his soldiers and shedding their blood, although. he is legally responsible for their protection and safety. This same Army commander who became the president 10 months ago is currently committing the same atrocity by turning a blind eye on kidnapping Lebanese citizens to Syria and detaining them illegally there.
It is our patriotic duty and obligation at this period of time to keep the Lebanese national memory alive, and to document all facts relevant to every event and incident. We have to remember very well that the majority of the installed officials have committed most of the crimes against the Lebanese people and their country. These puppet officials who are now in power are doing their best to forge history, hide the crimes and even deny them completely by alleging they were loses that occurred during the battles.
On this occasion we question the fact that international troops are digging graves in search of corpses buried in Bosnia and Korsovo and not providing any help to hundreds of Lebanese detainees buried alive in the notorious Nazi-like Syrian jails. We also wonder if criteria and standards for human rights differ according to a country’s magnitude of interests and if they shrink or get bigger based on a country’s needs and interests.
We shall remain the conscience and the eye that chases after Cain and his allies, we will keep reminding the whole world that crimes inflicted on Lebanon and the Lebanese are committed by those powers entrusted to restore security in Lebanon.
Long Live Free Lebanon
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A memory & an Example
By Dr Pierre Raffoul 1998:
Lately the notorious "Taef Accord" has been the focus of attention in numerous political commentaries and round table conferences. It has been described as the "accord of submission" that has no future, no matter what reviving and resuscitating means are applied to make it workable. This accord is hopeless because it was imposed on the people of Lebanon through a foreign will, and was born on a non-Lebanese land. It did not address the Lebanese ambitions, nor their free will or aspirations.
It is very helpful to remember what happened nine years ago, and recall with pride the opposing patriotic stance taken by General Michel Aoun and by the people of Lebanon. It is also enlightening to look thoroughly at the treacherous stance adopted by the Parliamentary members (MP's) to identify clearly Aoun's credibility and the treason of the opportunistic MP's.
On September 13, 1989 General Aoun met at the Baabda Palace with Lebanon's MP's. The meeting was quiet and pleasant and the Palace General Manager judge Joseph Jraisaty recorded the meeting minutes. General Aoun and the MP's discussed an extensive agenda related to the upcoming "Taef" conference and accord. They unanimously agreed on the following:
1- To focus on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon.
2- To abstain from discussing any Lebanese domestic issues.
3- To refuse any presidential election outside Lebanon.
4- To study the proposed "Taef accord" and ratify it in Lebanon.
The MP's stated openly that any issues or proposed agreements discussed at the upcoming "Taef" conference would not receive any final ratification before consulting and coordinating with Genral Aoun.
During the meeting, General Aoun cautioned the MP's firmly, from accepting an imposed status quo of any kind. He also warned them against accepting any agreement; they oppose because of embarrassment. He said to them: " If I went to "Al-Taef" and King Fahed asked me to accept a certain agreement for his own sake, and on his own personal responsibility, I may feel embarrassed and agree". MP Okaset Bakous angrily replied: "General Aoun, we are not that stupid".
At the end of the meeting, General Aoun addressed the MP's: "In this meeting we discussed extremely important and vital issues, but now I am going to ask you some thing that might surprise you. Lebanon is on the verge of collapsing; our current situation is like that of Lazarus in the grave. Only a miracle could save us, I ask you to pray to be successful and honest in your mission ".
The MP's left Baabda Palace happily with smiling faces. On their way out, they took turns in front of the media cameras confirming their free decision making process, vowing not to abandon their national dignity or compromise Lebanon's soil.
All the MP's rhetoric bragging on nobility, devotion, dignity and nationalism vanished in the air when in Saudi Arabia. All their defenses crashed down, and could not resist the temptation of the Saudi hard currency and the American Dollars. Money is said, turns heads, changes men, colors stances and exposes real affiliations.
Our MP's acted at Al-Taef City, like slaves. They looked out for their own interests rather than Lebanon's sovereignty and independence. They betrayed their country and fellow citizens, like Judas, when he accepted thirty pieces of silver. Although they have attempted to justify their treason, the Lebanese people will never forgive them and history shall curse them till the resurrection day. At Al-Taef City, they committed the crime of falling into temptation, sold Lebanon and degraded its dignity.
Lately the notorious "Taef Accord" has been the focus of attention in numerous political commentaries and round table conferences. It has been described as the "accord of submission" that has no future, no matter what reviving and resuscitating means are applied to make it workable. This accord is hopeless because it was imposed on the people of Lebanon through a foreign will, and was born on a non-Lebanese land. It did not address the Lebanese ambitions, nor their free will or aspirations.
It is very helpful to remember what happened nine years ago, and recall with pride the opposing patriotic stance taken by General Michel Aoun and by the people of Lebanon. It is also enlightening to look thoroughly at the treacherous stance adopted by the Parliamentary members (MP's) to identify clearly Aoun's credibility and the treason of the opportunistic MP's.
Taef, is a Saudi city, where Princes and wealthy men, from the entire kingdom spend the summer season, because of its moderate climate. The city's past is degrading in Islam's history, and its present is a big shame in the Lebanese history. Its people betrayed Prophet Mohammed fifteen centuries ago, and on its soil the Lebanese MP's sold Lebanon's sovereignty and independence in 1989…they offered them a gift to the occupier.
On September 30, 1998, sixty-three Lebanese MP's were shipped to Taef City to escape the authentic Liberation spirit spread all over Lebanon, replacing imported frustration and defeat mentality. The MP's were hosted in a first class hotel, surrounded by a warm milieu of apparent American influence, Saudi generosity, Patriarchal blessing and ongoing Lebanese Forces'support. They were made openly aware that all Syrian demands are to be guaranteed and Hariri's generous cheques will make them all happy and relaxed in return
Every means of physical comfort was provided to ensure the MP's were enjoying what was accessible for them. The last thing on their mind was the Lebanese dignity that was humiliated and downtrodden because of their subservient stance. They betrayed Lebanon and its people and showed no gratitude to people elected them and were then, still alive. They gave themselves the liberty to sell the nation's sacred foundations of sovereignty and independence, after filling their bank accounts and pockets with bribery money and precious gifts.
On their arrival to Taef City, the MP's were asked to hand over their passports to the Saudi Security authorities. They discovered later on, they were practically held in custody, not allowed to leave until they have approved the already prepared "Taef Accord" without making any change what so ever. They started to procrastinate in a bid to save their reputation and spent three long weeks in lengthy sessions studying the accord. The Saudi Foreign Minster, Prince Fayesl Al-Saoud, who orchestrated the Accord told them openly and in an intimidating manner: "you have no other choice, but to sign, the accord is final and has to be accepted as is". The MP's kneeled, bowed and approved the Accord with sweeping majority. They considered their act of betrayal a kind of rare heroism!!!
Initially, the people of Lebanon were not in favor of allowing the MP's to go to Taef City. They knew in advance that the MP's would give up easily Lebanon's independence and sovereignty. In this realm a delegation of patriotic citizens met General Aoun at the Baabda palace and conveyed to him how the majority of the people feel about this issue. They asked for his approval to stop the MP's from Leaving Lebanon. General Aoun refused their request and told them: " how can we can preach and struggle for justice, freedom and democracy and then practice just the opposite of what we are calling for? If I use force to stop them from leaving, and actually I am capable of doing so, some of you would demonstrate against me and say general Aoun is a dictator".
The "Central Bureau for National Co-ordination", in a bid to confirm its opposing stance against the "Taef Accord" and against all those who approved it, called for a public gathering at the "Naher Al-Kaleb" site. The Bureau aimed to make its stance clear and public as well as its national plans and political platform. The site was chosen due to the fact that it has witnessed the defeat and departure of thousands of invaders and conquerors with shame and humiliation. All what was left in their degrading memory are few words carved at the historic rocks. They all departed while the great people of Lebanon survived the hardships and kept their country a democratic haven for the persecuted and an oasis for freedoms. The minority defeated the majority, the weaker defeated the stronger, they all departed and the Lebanese remained victorious in its Holy Land. The people of Lebanon believed in freedom and knew how to guard and protect it through ongoing struggle and martyrdom all through 7000 years of deep rooted-Lebanese history.
The gathering was enormous and attracted thousands of Lebanese citizens from all over the country, and from all walks of live. It was inaugurated in the name of Lebanon's martyrs. Drums were beaten, and bands played the death music and the national anthem during which a child lighted the torch of freedom. All speeches called for a free, sovereign, independent Lebanon and encouraged the citizens to continue their struggle for liberation and their war against occupiers, collaborators, traitors and opportunists. General Aoun addressed the gathering (a taped speech), he commanded the people's perseverance and confirmed the country's interests should always have first priority. He urged all the Lebanese to continue their struggle for achieving the national set objectives.
He defined the public's Current concepts by saying:
We are the revolution's youth, not the revenge youth, We are the Current's outrage and anger, not the Current's hatred, and we are endeavoring for peace, not for surrender.
During the stay of the MP's at Taef City, some of them called General Aoun continuously, directly or through a third party, asking him what they should do. His answer for all those who called was ""do what we have agreed on in our last meeting at Baabda Palace".
On the tenth of October 1989, General Aoun called on the MP's at Taef City to return back to Lebanon. He repeated the same call several times for ten successive days. On the twentieth of the same month, Aoun declared his clear and final refusal of the "Taef Accord".
After three days he held a press conference and said to the Lebanese people: "you have two choices, either to accept the "Taef Accord", and in this case I will resign and go back to my home, or to reject it, and this means we will continue the struggle all together". The people's reaction was spontaneous and against the "Taef Accord". Hundreds of thousands came to the Presidential Palace every day (People's Palace) from all parts of Lebanon, and from all denominations to show their full support for Aoun's patriotic courageous stance. Some of the demonstations out side the palace reached half a million citizen.
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The Republic, not the Presidency
By Dr Pierre Raffoul:
In the midst of the current frantic commotion for the Lebanese presidency election that is due within less than month, and the auction in traits needed in the president to be, I will share with you some relevant events that happened 10 years ago when a similar situation prevailed in Lebanon.
Numerous local, regional and international dignitaries discussed with General Michel Aoun in 1989 the presidency issue and submitted to him tempting offers to peruse the post. Aoun's answer was "my objective is to liberate the republic, not to be the president, take the presidency and give me the republic". Aoun's mere focus was on regaining the free Lebanese Republic.
General Aoun received one of these offers few days before the Lebanese army got engaged with the Syrian army and declared the liberation war. Mr. Fayez Kazi visited Baabda palace as an envoy representing Mr. Raffic Hariri, He came to the palace from Damascus to congratulated General Aoun on the presidency. Mr. Kazi said " Syrian President Hafez Assad conveyed to Mr. Hariri personally his approval for General Aoun to be Lebanon's president, he repeated his stance yesterday and more than once during the inauguration of the Syrian palace for conferences". Mr. Kazi delivered this message to Aoun while the Syrians and their allies were heavily shelling Beirut residential areas and its port.
General Aoun did not show any reaction for Mr. Kazi's offer, his face remained sulky with no indications of happiness, joy or victory. His focus was on the deteriorating military situation and its negative effects. Aoun looked at Mr. Kazi and said " The Syrians are still dealing with us in accordance to a mentality of portions making fun of us. We did not spare any effort to be friends and establish a healthy relationship with them, but they continuously decline and let us down. We took all the needed measures to stop smuggling and terrorism and to control the security in our country. We wanted to make Lebanon a creditable country in the world, a respected and well-organized republic. The Syrians fought us and took sides with the terrorists and smugglers. They asked Amal movement, Mr. Walid Jumblat and the Palestinian Abu Moussa to bombard and attack our areas. Their behavior is strange and bizarre, on one side they attack us and on the other they sent Mr. Kazi to congratulate me for the presidency post. We ask the Syrians, if they are actually willing to help, to put an end to this comedy play. The crisis and because of their participation (the Syrians) has been ongoing on for the last 14 years… I do not want the presidency post, I ask them to help us to get out of the crisis."
Mr. Al-Akdar Al-Ebrahemi (Arab League envoy) submitted another offer to General Aoun after the Lebanese MP's signed the "Taef Accord". Al -Abraham said to Aoun "come with me just now, we will go to Saudi Arabia, you sit at the right of the king there, and return back to Lebanon as the president for the republic, General Aoun smiled and said, my dear friend if I agree with you, I will be a traitor to my people, and not Michel Aoun".
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VIDEO LINKS:
Aoun press conference March 14, 1989 - War of Liberation:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z07X-8QySEs&feature=channel
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z07X-8QySEs&feature=channel
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ok1qGF6Tvc&feature=channel
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IlZzjx2dvk&feature=channel
Liberation War (NewTV 2009 Documentary):
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOu5BIXqoe8&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqxmW_rem64&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TSBnDhgUd0&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riyGgiOt1iE&feature=related
OTV D0cumentary: 14th March ( 2008):
Episode 1:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd0QYiIE__o&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoBXDSGDgzw&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkYCzZ1b_n8&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_yPBeozXXI&feature=related
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMVGAmWbafk&feature=related
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pkls4mk3rc&feature=related
Episode 2:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOGyv8THmLk&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2HXbgagnSM&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV_3RYw_4mU&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV6ruUNtMso&feature=related
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A7jRpemYAo&feature=related
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKPWCFT3vWE&feature=related
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcLG99fV0VI&feature=related
March 14, FPM Festival:
Shirly Murr speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OivmryDgT3w
GMA Speech Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmgWqaUSJzU&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ1Mr0DIYw8&feature=related
Aoun resists Taef agreement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq__LoIQh2M
French MP in Baabda 1989:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXUxoeLoh9c
Demonstration to Bkerki 1989:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xe5DiocxUs&feature=related
Pierre Raffoul - Amazing Speech Baabda 1990:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icUVXmIkiuo
Aounak Jayi men allah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgohlvhdpMY&feature=related
Syrian Army invades Lebanon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S753WymyNOg&feature=related
Difference between Aoun and Hariri - Watch and you be the judge!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB5zUJgfqFg
