 (Translated freely: By Elias Bejjani) Last week, the Syrian President, Mr. Hafez Assad, addressed the Arabic Parliamentary Union conference that held its sessions in Damascus. In his speech he said: "This parliamentary union institution was established in 1974 as a positive outcome of the "October Liberation and Arabic solidarity war." The shameful phenomenon was that the audience warmly applauded Assad's speech. One has to ask Mr. Assad what he has liberated in the so called "October Liberation War" and how could he justify his misleading speech? What land did Assad liberate during that war? Did he liberate the occupied land Israel initially occupied and that remained occupied afterwards? Did he liberate the Syrian people from his regime's oppression, poverty and persecution? Did he liberate the Syrian Army from the barracks and deploy soldiers on the frontiers with Israel to reclaim what was occupied, or did he instead order a guard for the security of the occupying army? The so-called "October war" was a camouflage, a big lie. It did not reclaim any occupied land; on the contrary it gave Israel more. The so-called "October War" humiliated Syrian patriotic dignity and restrained the Syrian resistance against the Israeli occupation for quarter of a century. The so-called "October War", entrapped Arabic armies from Morocco, Jordan and Iraq in a Syrian-Israeli 'pre-set outcome' military confrontation. Overtly, Syria and Israel are bitter enemies but covertly, in reality, they are close friends. The chameleon "October War" was waged on account of elite Syrian heroes who gave their lives for a dictatorious, treacherous and oppressive Syrian regime. These Syrian heroes were killed either in the battlefield while defending their country's honor, or executed by the Syrian regime for refusing the surrender orders, under the guise of treason. Still many Syrian elite heroes remain detained in the notorious Syrian-Nazi like jails paying the price for their patriotism. Mr. Assad, it is time to stop lying and deceiving your own people in particular and the whole Arab world in general. Be sure the truth will surface sooner or latter, and that history will have no mercy on cheaters, traitors and manipulators. When a person lies, he does so out of ignorance and because of lack of respect for himself and others. When a leader lies, he deceives his people instead of confronting them with the truth, a morally bankrupt conduct that leads to mutual lack of trust, hatred and humiliation. A leader who lies is a bad role model for his people because he intentionally fosters deception, blind submission and cowardice instead of courage, transparency, honesty and heroism. The so called "October War", was not a liberation war, but a vehicle for surrender and betrayal. It killed the people's dreams for freedom, democracy, honesty, and respect for human rights. It replaced all the good ethical, humane and patriotic traits with a widespread opportunism, selfishness, submission and cajoling attitudes…. All thanks to leaders like Mr. Assad. Who does Mr. Assad deceive when he boldly claims that the "October War" was the blessed crop of Arabic solidarity? What Arabic solidarity he is talking about? The outcome of the "October War" lead to the following disasters: 1. It forced the Assad sectarian, Stalinist dictatorship regime on Syria and made the Syrian people slaves under the mercy of an oppressive merciless leadership, 2. It gave this regime the long hand to occupy Lebanon, destroy its democracy, massacre its people and make it an arena for terrorism and wars of others. 3. It infiltrated and destroyed the Palestinian resistance movement. 4. It betrayed the Arabs and played a treacherous role in dividing them. What is really disgusting and also puzzling, is that despite all of the crimes that the Syrian-Assad regime have committed, we still find some who support its leadership and applaud for them. Our only explanation for this awful conduct is that the spirit of honesty, self-respect and witnessing for the truth is dead inside these people. Long Live Free Lebanon |