 By: Elias Bejjani If freedom is to be personified one day in Lebanon, it is definitely going to be manifested in a soldier's costume. My army is my family, affiliation, pride, commitment, strength and all guarantees required for a decent life. It embraces among its ranks every Lebanese family, religion, village, city and region. My army has never abandoned a national cause, or practiced any kind of favoritism with its people. My army chants with pride Lebanon's national anthem that says "we are all for Lebanon", and practises exactly what it chants. It is a national shield and an umbrella for all the people of Lebanon. It courageously protects their constitution, democracy, freedoms, security and safeguards the country's stability and future. My army holds a sword in one hand and a pen in the other. The sword is used to provide Lebanon and its people with strength, righteous drives, a scale of justice, a guarantee for human rights, a protector of the borders, an asylum for the weak and a deterrent for all those neighboring countries who hide expansionism and vicious ambitions against Lebanon's holy soil. The pen is a tool of wisdom and rational thinking. It combines education and knowledge, development and openness, efficiency and commitment. Through wisdom and devotion the army deserved its status as a protector, gained the love of its people and embodied their hopes and dreams. My army will always be itself, Lebanon's patriotic devoted army. It shall hold to its codes in spite of the occupant's and local collaborator's desperate attempts to impose on its ranks their imported, corrupted qualities. They viciously aim to colour its image as treacherous and backstabbing, collaboration and suppression, injustice and partition, power and totalitarianism, politicization and puppetism, fanatism and denominationalism My army shall always be a symbol for honesty, devotion, sacrifice and national faith. It shall always respect and abide by great Lebanon's code of ethics, human rights and civilized military traditions. My army experienced war and loved peace, My army knew deprivation and detention and pursued freedom, My army witnessed isolation and called for openness, My army knew politicization and sectarianism and preferred democracy and coexistence My army understood power and supported the weak and the needy. My army recognized injustice and preached justice, My army perceived backstabbing and decided to remain honest, transparent and clean, My army was exposed to partition and pursued unity The occupants and their local collaborators planned to cancel my army's national role. They viciously stole its rights and all its patriotic duties through an illegitimate regime comprised of a fraudulent parliament and "made in Syria" puppet officials. They stole from its ranks the love and trust of the people and changed its mandate from a national united army for all Lebanon and all the Lebanese, to a divided army its mere and only mandate to protect the Syrian-installed puppet regime. They deprived my army from its leader and symbol, humiliated its martyrs and heroes. The majority of its patriotic officers and soldiers are either imprisoned, laid off, marginalized or sent into exile. They replaced them by collaborators and opportunists who are always ready to kneel and bow for every occupant. They politicized, demoralized, sectarianized and divide the army turning it into militia-like factions. The occupants and their local collaborators stole from my army its precious national cause and substituted its free will for freedom and peace by an orchestrated imposed fake war. They planned that Lebanon and its army be engaged in this war (in South Lebanon) on their own and suffer alone all its devastating consequences. The occupant brothers, (the Syrians) stole from Lebanon's army its oath, incorporated its flag with theirs, stole its annual anniversary day and amalgamated it with their army's day. They wanted everybody who praises Lebanon's army not to be able to do so without praising theirs. They legalized acts of assault against Lebanon and its people and destroyed the country's economy forcing the majority of the Lebanese to immigrate. They stole all what our army had, and the list goes on and on. The great people of Lebanon, civilians and military, in occupied Lebanon and in Diaspora are living the commemoration of their army's day with pride, faith and hope. Pride in their heritage, culture, civilization, distinguished identity and 6000-year deeply- rooted history. Faith in Almighty God, their potentials, and patriotic leadership. Hope for liberation, peace, sovereignty, independence, freedom and victory. Congratulations to our beloved army on the occasion of its anniversary day and congratulations for every Lebanese whose faith is not shaken and his will is not weaken. Lebanon is ours and by God's will, shall always be so. N.B: I was fascinated last Friday by an Arabic article published by the "National Lebanese Congress weekly bulletin" under the title "MY ARMY", on the occasion of "Lebanon's 53rd army anniversary day". The above were the contents of that beautiful article, translated freely with major alterations to express its patriotic astounding actual ideas. Long Live Free Lebanon. |