General Aoun’s address to the Lebanese people on the launching ceremony of the electoral platform.
May 7, 2009
I am addressing you today not to tell you about a platform that represents your wishes and ambitions, or to remind you that the parliamentary elections are a month away, because I know you are eagerly awaiting these elections to have the final say in our change and reform mission; I am rather addressing you to revive your memory of all that we’ve been and are still going through in this country at various levels in consecutive attempts to cripple our ability to make the right decisions.
The ruling parties are doing their utmost to obliterate the memory of the Lebanese citizen and replace the facts that incriminate them with other primitive emotions that drive us away from the essence of the election principle which lies in accountability, in other terms holding officials in power accountable for drowning us in a series of chronic crises. Significant material and human resources have already been wasted and are still on a slippery slope, and might fall abruptly if the social powers are not awakened to face the control of the Mafiosi powers.
Thirteen years ago, on July 15 1996, I sent you an address asking you to continue boycotting the elections because it was not one where you could choose your true representatives but rather an election that sought your recognition of a status quo enforced on you only to consecrate a ruling power that succumbed to the will of the occupant.
Today, a historic opportunity awaits you. An opportunity that gives you the possibility to revive the democratic process and to enrich the Parliament and the political institutions with a new mentality due, in turn, to enhance our power for change and give a boost to our mission of reform. Those who are chanting today the slogan of independence, freedom and democracy are the same ones who cowardly refused to stand up to the occupier; they even defended him, thus describing the loss of sovereignty as legitimate, necessary and temporary and turning Lebanon’s flag into a Judas’ kiss arresting and torturing you every time you held it high.
They are the ones who drowned the country in debts and ruined state institutions to build their own on its rubbles and have made you, citizens, the customers of their private companies, making benefits out of you, instead of treating you as citizens with entitled rights.
This is why you should not ask anyone’s opinion regarding your choice in the upcoming elections because the answer lies in you.
It is true, we are the precursors of change and reform, and it is true that despite all the hurdles we encountered, we managed to make many achievements through our responsibilities in parliament and in ministries. But there is a lot more to be done and we need to have the majority in parliament to ratify a number of reforms and to implement our electoral platform.
So open your eyes and your minds to what lies around you and analyze what takes you backwards and what pushes your forward and you will find the answers within you and you will know whether to vote for change or for the same ruling parties.
Yes, let the worker among you ask about his working conditions, would he vote for change or renew for those who stripped him of his rights? Let his poverty give him the right answer.
Let the industrialist among you ask about his industry, would he choose change or renew for the era of wealthy magnates? Let his crippled industry give him the right answer.
Let the trader among you ask about his trade, wouldn’t its recession give him the right answer?
Let the farmer among you go back to his farmland and ask himself: If I choose to renew for a long-lasting neglect, would I save my produce from rotting away? And if the answer is yes, then he should go ahead and renew the vote.
Let the employee among you wonder: if I renew for the era of corruption, would my salary be enough to meet my family’s needs for half a month? And if the answer is yes, then he should renew the vote.
Let the taxpayer among you, and you are all taxpayers, think about the huge taxes imposed on him and ask himself: if I renew for the same ruling parties, would my tax burden be alleviated tomorrow? If the answer is yes, then he should renew the vote.
Let the mothers and fathers among you ask about their children’s future and schooling fees, and about the financial burden of everyday life. If they find a ray of hope for improvement in renewing for the same ruling class, then let them renew the vote.
Let the unemployed among you ask himself: would my voting for the same ruling parties make me earn a decent living? If the answer is yes, then he should renew the vote.
Let the middle class people who have reached the poverty line ask if they are hopeful that their situation would improve under this rule? If the answer is yes, then they should renew the vote.
Let the poor and the deprived ask if they would get rid of their poverty if they vote for the same ruling parties? If the answer is yes, then they should renew the vote.
Let the displaced that are still unable to return to their hometowns ask the rubbles about a hope of return and if they do find this hope in the fund for the displaced, then they should renew the vote.
Let the youth among you ask themselves, in their situation of loss and disorientation, whether their vote for the ruling parties would lead them to stability and prevent them from immigrating? If the answer is yes, then they should renew the vote.
Ask about your heritage and if you don’t find out that it’s on its way to destruction, renew the vote.
Ask about your polluted environment and check it out, and if its pollution is not increasing, renew the vote.
Listen to the speeches of the ruling parties about the need for national reconciliation and if you find that they have taken even a small step towards this aim, renew the vote.
Ask the current MPs of the majority to tell you about the bills they blocked and if you see in their prevention any interest for you or your country, renew the vote.
Ask those chasing parliamentary seats at any cost about their free decision-making, and if you find that they have it, then renew the vote.
Let the judges ask about the reputation of their judiciary and if they are happy with the answer, then they should renew the vote.
Let the journalists ask themselves how free their pens and their opinions are and if they are happy with the answer, then they should renew the vote.
Ask about the State finances, about the internal and external public debt, and if you find that your children and your children’s children will be able to pay it back without submission of any kind, then renew the vote.
Ask about the huge projects. Whose are they? And whose interests do they benefit? Ask about the big companies that were established recently? And if you find that they belong to the Lebanese people and that they are of benefit to them, then renew the vote.
Ask the over-wealthy eager to seize power, with whom and for whom do they rule? If the answer is with you and for you, then renew the vote.
Today, Lebanon is at a crucial crossroads of its history and national political life. These elections prepared by the ruling parties and fed by colossal amounts of money and by media that only distorts facts could be a dangerous trap. So watch out and don’t let anyone lure you into believing that those who ruled Lebanon for 17 consecutive years are able to change because if they were, they would have already done so. So they are either incompetent or ill intentioned and the outcome is just the same.
You should know that the Lebanese economy is at the brink of total collapse, ailing to a dangerous extent and the financial situation hinges on bank deposits. The disastrous financial policies that the ruling parties have adopted based on taxes and high-interest loans have increased the debt, crippled productive sectors, and turned our society into one that needs to beg for a living.
The experiences you have been through for the last 17 years have badly scarred you, but you don’t have to remain on the same path for yet another four years. The elections are ahead of you and they are your only salvation, so seize this opportunity, make the right choice, and vote for change.
