 By: Elias Bejjani Events in Jezzine as of late are extremely dramatic, inhumane, tormenting, uncivilized and brutal. A two year-old boy was killed along with his father in cold blood and a twelve year-old girl was blown to pieces with her brother. The four died as a result of roadside bombs detonated by Hizbollah guerrillas in the Christian Jezzine area of South Lebanon. The victims were travelling in civilian cars, unarmed and not in any kind of military assignment. The sole crime of these innocent Jezzini Christian residents is either they or a parent or relative are members in the South Lebanon's Army (S.L.A). The latter two barbaric incidents are not isolated or transient. The Jezzini civilians have been exposed brutally to ongoing massacres for the last ten years; many of them including women; children and elderly were assassinated according to well-orchestrated and vicious plans. Such massacres serve no Lebanese national purpose. They are plain cold blood murders that anger and sadden all patriotic Lebanese in occupied Lebanon as well as in Diaspora. They portray our people as being sectarian, fanatic, barbaric and criminal, killing each other with no mercy. In fact not even one Lebanese with any sense of rational patriotic thinking would be able to justify these murders or find excuses for those who execute them under the camouflaged slogan of "punishing the collaborators with the Israeli occupant". The Jezzinies as well as the rest of the South Lebanese residents, Muslims and Christians, are not by any means to be blamed for the Israeli occupation to their land. In fact they are the main victims of this occupation, facing alone its devastating consequences on a daily basis. The majority of Lebanon's current government officials and political leaders supporting the Lebanese Syrian-installed regime sided with the Palestinian guerrillas in 1969 and1978. They did so against their own army and regime, helping the Palestinians to conquer massive parts of South Lebanon and turn it to a Palestinian-Israeli war zone "FATEH LAND". The Palestinians, using Lebanon's South as war battle base, surged a guerrilla war against Israel. To put an end to this war of attrition, Israel occupied whole South Lebanon and a part of the Bekka in 1978 and reached the capital (Beirut) in 1982, imposing the current status quo. Most of these Lebanese leaders who fought the Lebanese regime under the "National Block" umbrella and supported the Palestinians are now high ranking official including presidents, ministers, Parliament members, ambassadors etc. These shortsighted leaders are to be blamed because their pro-Palestinian and anti-Lebanese policies lead to the occupation of the South by the Israelis and to the Syrian occupation to the rest of Lebanon. It is worth mentioning that the original number of Jezzine's region inhabitants was more than fifty thousand 10 years ago. Currently, thanks to both Israel and the "Islamic Resistance" spearheaded by Hizollah party, the number dropped drastically to less than five thousand. Mr. Simon Karam, a Jezzini resident and a prominent Lebanese politician (Lebanon's ex ambassador to the USA), issued a press release last week saying: " the killing of the two Jezzini children aged five and twelve was planned. They were the target of the aggressors and not their parents or relatives who are members in the "South Lebanon's Army", and happened to be travelling with them when they were killed. "The Ladikia truce" (reached between the Syrians and the Lebanese regime in August 1997) in regard to Jezzine region, seems to be falling apart. South Lebanon's Issues should be put in the open to end the brutal killings of the Jezzine region's children under justifications of fighting Israel. The ongoing vicious plots legalize killing under the umbrella of maintaining security and safeguarding national peace. Karam warned of the fatal consequences for giving the criminals full control over the region and enabling them to pick and choose freely their victims. He called on the UN, USA, England, France and free world communities to support an international plan for the withdrawal of the SLA from Jezzine region. He called also for the deployment of UN peace forces in SLA's place till the Lebanese army is able to enter the region. Karam cautioned from disastrous consequences that might affect the whole region if the Beirut's scandalous regime keeps taking lassez-fair stands in regards to the Jezzine dilemma. Witnessing this ongoing dilemma that is targeting our people in the Jezzine region raises the following simple questions which we hope the concerned parties will address rationally, patriotically, courageously and most importantly openly: First," Who is the enemy the Islamic resistance is fighting in South Lebanon?" Is it the Israelis or the Southern Christians? Second: who is going to benefit from the evacuation of Jezzine region from its original Christian inhabitants? Third: Is it true that Mr. Rafic Hariri under disguised Real Estate companies bought large areas of Land between Jezzine and Kfarfalous in a bid to settle the half million Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon? (Mr. Remon Eddie three years ago spoke about such a scheme publicly and stated that UN experts visited the area to put plans for the project.) We in the "FREE NATIONAL CURRENT" believe in the right of our people to resist all foreign troops and force them by all legitimate means to leave our beloved country, (Syrians, Israelis and others) provided no double standards in resistance are practiced and only the foreign troops being fought not our people who are enduring the occupation hardships. Our people in South Lebanon should be helped to stay in their homes and in their land, not intimidated, tortured, massacred, tagged as traitors and forced to leave. We consider every Lebanese living in occupied Lebanon, either in the South or in any other part of the country, not willingly collaborating with the Syrians or the Israelis a victim and not a traitor and should be dealt with accordingly. Long Live Free Lebanon. |