Lebanon's Awn addresses bloc, defends Hezbollah telephone network

["General Awn Chairs Weekly Meeting of Change and Reform Bloc: International Planning With Local Cooperation Led to Current Vacuum" - NNA Headline]

Beirut, 5 May (NNA) - At his home in Al-Rabiyah District, General Awn chaired the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform Bloc. Addressing the meeting, General Awn said: "Based on reports this week, we have been somewhat surprised and wondering why the issue of the telephone network is being raised. The issue is not new. Since I was in France and before I came to Lebanon, I had known that the network was there. Why is the issue being raised now? Since that time, I have not heard that this network caused the death of anyone. I learned that it was used during the defence of the Lebanese borders, and communications were perfectly under control. These helped those who defended the Lebanese border. Now I do not know why the issue is being raised."

General Awn said: "There are many private networks in all security zones and we hope that all these networks will be exposed, especially the surveillance network about which His Excellency the prime minister told us in his policy statement and in which he said that he would enact a surveillance law in order to preserve the people's freedom through this surveillance within the limits of a law that preserves freedom of the individual and maintains security. So far they have not enacted this law but I learned that they have used new tools that could introduce surveillance without eavesdropping. These things are done with certain tools and on a large scale. This means that nobody will be able to escape surveillance. If they want they can enter the dining room or the sitting room of anyone and monitor what he says anywhere. They would be able to pick up his conversation if his cellular phone is close to them.

"Therefore, this means that the issue is being raised so that the government might cover up what it is doing because it has already done many things that are bigger than these."

General Awn said: "Whether the network is legal or illegal, I feel that it is part of what was mentioned in the policy statement. If the resistance has the right to liberate or work for liberation, then it has the right to maintain secret communications with its military departments. I think that Hezbollah has acquired a good conduct certificate in using its weapons for the past 27 years, since 1982. Nobody was harmed by such a thing and, God willing, others will do the same."

General Awn asked: "What about the networks that others possess under other covers? The first cover are security establishments such as Security Plus and others. What are these networks used for? Who pays the salaries of their employees? The militias are in their thousands now. Who pays their salaries and who secures for them their communications networks? Under whose auspices is this done? They do not work to defend the borders but they are within the society. Then why are they working within the society? Is the Lebanese society a security society like a militia, or is it a society under a state? Are security services officially responsible for this society? They raised this issue with the aim of cancelling the 7 May strike."

General Awn considered that "the 7 May strike has been a difficult problem that began in 1993 when a new economic policy began, killing the domestic economy and investing the money in unproductive projects. It killed the working sectors, both agricultural and industrial, because the money was withdrawn from the market and a high interest rate was given. In 1995, I wrote a letter published in the annex of my book: My Vision for Lebanon, which was addressed to the rulers of the world. I said that investing money in unproductive projects and withdrawing the capital from the market will wipe out or cancel the middle class in Lebanon, which is the cause for the society's stability and its strategic reservoir. That was what happened."

General Awn said: "I repeated this in 1996 over the NTV station and we spoke about what the high interest rate would do to the society. I said in the past and I repeat: The wretched capitalists who invested their money thought that they would be able to live comfortably. But they had to face increasing taxes and high interest rates on their debts. Thus everyone became poor.

"What is happening now? Let us take the reality which I spoke of in 1997, 1998, and 2000 after the elections. We said that the economic conditions would not change. The individuals who made these mistakes are repeating their mistakes. If they are not changed and if their economic policies are not change, the situation would deteriorate further and further.

"In 1998 I told Maggie Farah on MTV that this person whose name is (martyr Prime Minister) Rafiq al-Hariri was burning the country economically. You must stop him from burning the country. All this is documented. This means that we have always warned the society. During this period, economic establishments were closed, workers were laid off, emigration was on the increase, and the entire regime was increasingly dependent on borrowing and taxation until we reached the current conditions."

General Awn added: "I heard that they are happy because there is an increase in income. I heard the finance minister say this. Yes, the income increased. When prices increase from 70 to 100, then the VAT [value added tax] will be calculated against the 100 rate. The result will be an increase in prices but not in production.

"What shape are the current economic conditions are taking? The income of the factories and agricultural establishments is very limited and they are on the brink of the precipice. If they want to give a salary increment to the workers, it would be possible that they might also collapse and all workers would be out of work. All workers are now very poor because their salaries are insufficient. Where is the cause of the crisis? It is in the Grand Serail. What has the government been doing since the late 1992 until today; that is, for about 15 years? It has only been ruining the economy and turning Lebanon into a consumer society because there is no production. The consumer society imports, and imports are very expensive. Furthermore, taxes rise with the prices."

General Awn says that "the economy minister has the right to cut the profits during major crises like the one in which we are living. He must not leave the current profit to increase until he is able to at least compensate for the difference in profits. They can reduce the VAT in an extraordinary measure by the same rate of the profit increase so the citizen's poverty might not be exacerbated."

General Awn appealed to employers and employees to "participate in the 7 May demonstration until the government leaves the Serail because it is the cause of Lebanon's calamity."

He added: "Concerning the dialogue that had been aborted, there is yet another proof that the Lebanese officials listen to those abroad, with whom they are linked. They cannot hold dialogue with any other politician. They have only one clear, final, and definitive aim. The issue reached its limits and they fled from the dialogue. What were the limits? They wanted to monopolize decisionmaking until the 2009 elections. They did not want anyone who might be able to influence the government decisions. Therefore, they are afflicted with the complex of 11-out-of-30. They either stop at 10 and fail to go back to 11, or they return to the 7-13-10 formula.

"Regarding this issue, we understand the game and we will not leave the country as it has been left over the past three years. We will not tolerate this. Let them remain responsible for this. They are responsible for each decision they make."

General Awn said: "They want to abrogate the election laws in order that they might repeat the next elections under the 2000 electoral law, and so that they might preserve a certain majority, along with the surplus cash that is realized from deals, taxes, and assistance. I said assistance to avoid saying political money, which is being spent outside public auditing. They believe that they can buy people for money to make them vote for them and for a new authority."

General Awn adds: "This government and the pro-government forces want to transform the citizens from people with rights into beggars. They have closed the official clinic, which is supposed to provide services to the people, and are opening a private clinic using the money earmarked for the official clinic. Instead of being people with rights, the people become beggars, receiving money from a benefactor. In the future, they would carry up arms to defend him and he would pretend to be their saviour."

General Awn appealed to the citizens not to "be transformed into beggars. Whether the money comes from a private or a public source, these are their rights which the authorities robbed. They believe that they are giving alms to the people." He added: "What led to this vacuum had been an international planning with domestic cooperation by the government because it has become subservient to international decisions. We have spoken about this issue several times and, God be praised, we wrote about this issue in March of 2007 to prove it. All the documents to prove this still exist and all their procrastination and pretexts are flimsy."

General Awn said: "Some who have lost their memories, especially those who adopt their positions on TV screens, give justifications because of their ignorance or sometime because they ignore these things. In all cases, we must say that they have no right to use their conscience to promote their private interests and to prefer those who have mafia-like influence to public interest and the interest of the citizen. When anyone, regardless of his position, ignores the fact that the current parliament was formed in accordance with a wrong electoral law, causes the dissolution of the highest legislation-monitoring foundation in Lebanon, namely, the Constitutional Council, rules that Article 195 would no longer be honoured, spends the budget without auditing, cancels state auditing establishments, cancels the presidency, and is now telling us to have conscience, saying that this would not work and we must go the Chamber of Deputies, we tell him that we are exercising our rights.

"The two thirds are compulsory. The one who has no two thirds will be pay the price. The price is the participation in an 11-19 formula and an electoral law that allows fair representation. The [election] commission has prepared a law at the government's orders. Let them send it to the Justice and Administration Committee not in the form of a law but in the form of a plan that the commission presents for study. When this law is agreed legally, we will sign it as a draft law and the electoral law will be possible, otherwise let them form a committee and take a pledge from it that the draft will be presented within five months. At the end of the sixth month, the law will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies and it will win. This is unacceptable. In 1992, they promised to enact a law and they went back on their promise. They also went back on their promises in 1996, in 2000, and in 2005. Whoever is so gullible or naive will be consider a plotter.

General Awn concluded by saying: "Anyone who speaks about the presidential elections before agreeing on the law and on partnership will be the one who directs a blow at the Lebanese equilibrium and national unity, and who marginalizes the Christians by cancelling their political presence in Lebanon, whether he is in a religious, secular, political or any other position. We will not be afraid to tell anyone, to his face, that he is a plotter, especially against the Christians of Lebanon."

General Awn then took questions from Reports.

Question: "Do you not believe that the expansion of the Hezbollah operations in Jubayl and Kasrawan will greatly displease the Christians of this area?"

General Awn: "What do you know about the expansion of the Hezbollah activities? These days, we can see that the Voice of Lebanon, the Free Lebanon Radio, and the government are presenting this question as a fact."

The correspondent asked: "But I am from Jubayl and I have seen movements by Hezbollah." General Awn replied: "They have been present in Jubayl, not since yesterday but before I arrived from France. They are present in all Shi'i villages."

General Awn was told: "But the Jubayl area has a special status." He replied: "Rumaysh has a special status and there are Lebanese Forces there. The same thing applies to Al-Qulay'ah, Ayn Ibil, Dibbal, and eastern Sidon. The Lebanese Forces are making moves and nobody is displeased with them. Hezbollah elements exist in Jubayl and nobody should be displeased with them. This is within free political beliefs. But if they commit security violations it will be a different story. I have so far not heard that they were involved in a security problem with the inhabitants of the area. But you, the media, should not complicate matters because the people of Jubayl did not experience such things. But if you discuss such a thing, the people of Jazzin, Ba'labakk, and the north will start worrying. This is the responsibility of the media, and it is a big responsibility. Do not pick such an issue and blow it out of proportion to incite people. This has been a long story. My information says these reports are not true."

General Awn was told: "But Deputy Walid Junblatt mentioned this." He replied: "This deputy, Junblatt, is now defending Jubayl. Let him first return the Christians that he displaced. Who is he to provoke the people of Jubayl and Kasrawan? He is a most sectarian and sanguinary individual."

Question: "The newspaper Al-Nahar published a report under the headline: The Father Leader Is Eating His Sons. They mean you and how you are treating the members of the Free Patriotic Movement. What do you say?"

General Awn: "Some officials in the Al-Nahar newspaper have deviated from moral political rules. We sent them a letter saying that the Movement does not have sources but persons with clear names. If they are brave and humans, and if their aim is not to tarnish my personal image and the Movement's image, then let them publish the names of those who gave them this information. Al-Nahar and those who adopt such practices - certainly not all journalists - have transgressed the moral and professional limits. This newspaper is no longer worth reading. It has been transformed into a propaganda leaflet for the 14 March Movement."

Question: "What do you say about the monitoring of the airport and the telecommunications network that Communication's Minister Marwan Hamadah talked about?"

General Awn: "I am surprised how the Army's communications reach those who are talking about them. Is the Army infiltrated?" Are the Army's communications being leaked, or is the Army Command responsible for tackling issues? As for the airport surveillance, they do not need to place watchtowers over the airport. All high-rise buildings are clearly overlooking the airport. Is there a bank without surveillance? The Bikfayya Road is festooned with cameras. They know when we go out, and are aware of all our movements. I am not saying this to accuse anyone of planning to place a bomb or a boobytrapped vehicle. Hezbollah knows where to place its cameras and it is defending itself. Does this mean that if a camera is placed at the Cocodi there will be a threat to the airport?

"The threat against all of Lebanon can be found in Google Earth, which shows anyone who might be sipping coffee in his own garden. I can go to Google to see if my flowers have blossomed or not. I suppose those who provide information to Google are watching the airport's runway. But the area was infiltrated in 1968 and they burned our aircraft. We hope that all the Lebanese will watch the airport and tell us what happened."

Question: "Do you, the opposition, support the 7 May workers moves?"

General Awn: "I have given my opinion and analysis and I call on the workers and the employees to demonstrate together in order to bring down the Siniora government, which has been destroying the industrial and agricultural sectors since 1993. It has closed many establishments. I was absent from the country for 15 years and when I returned I found many names missing from the market. There were industrial firms whose owners became bankrupt and some of them committed suicide."

Question: "Some fear that the demonstration will threaten security and that there will be street clashes like the clashes that took place the last time round."

General Awn: "This is aggression. The right to demonstrate is the right of people the world over, but riots are forbidden. States are responsible for fighting riots and not demonstrations. Demonstrations are a sacred right, expressing demands collectively. The government is responsible for security and for preventing those who want to stage riots."

Question: "How do you interpret remarks Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Butrus Sfayr made about internationalization when he left Lebanon?"

General Awn: "Had he given his advice to his friends in the government first, it would have been more beneficial to them."

Question: "Will you accept an increase of 150,000 Lebanese pounds to the citizens? The government will discuss this issue today."

General Awn: "The crisis is not between the workers and the employees. It is a government crisis and it has caused these accumulating crises."

Question: "Some newspapers said today that the Arab initiative has been undermined and that there is a European-French initiative that will coincide with the tour of Patriarch Sfayr. What is the aim of creating an atmosphere of a solution that the majority is propagating, in conjunction with attacks against Hezbollah?"

General Awn: "I had hoped that the Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa would direct his words to those who are in the government now. They say that the crisis require a miracle because we have demanded an extra minister and a fair electoral law. This means that this government does not allow the people's representatives to participate in a partnership. Here I say people's representatives and not the people because it is well-known today that two-thirds of the people are in the opposition and one-third in the government. Therefore, the miracle will occur if those who are in the government go away. If they do not want to recognize our rights and representation, then we will return to the middle Ages. They are pushing us in the direction of a French revolution. They are speaking about democracy and dialogue to solve the problem. The miracle is needed by the major powers that are backing the current government in Lebanon and which want the crisis to continue. This government has surrendered its decisionmaking to those abroad."

Question: "The government team is wagering on electing the president by one-half plus one. What do you say?"

General Awn: "We said that election by one-half plus one will be a coup and it will be met with a countercoup."

Question: "The issue of Zahlah was referred to the Judicial Council. Did you discuss this referral?"

General Awn: "Yes, we discussed this subject and we reached the opinion that this dossier does not meet all the requirements to be referred to the Judicial Council. It is not a political event or a political assassination but an isolated assassination resulting from an altercation and a verbal duel between two armed men. If the government makes such a decision, it will be based on a recommendation and the government will have exceeded the powers given to it."

Question: "In his latest interview, Deputy Michel al-Murr said that Al-Ta'if Agreement gave some of the presidential powers to the Council of Ministers and the Council did not restore these powers to the president. Prime Minister Siniora has taken over the powers of the president. What will force him to return them to the president?"

General Awn: "Nobody will force him."

Question: "Then how will the country proceed forward?"

General Awn: "The country will sink. It will not proceed forward."

Question: "Do you see any link between the involvement of the Lebanese Army intelligence in the Army Commander's candidacy for the presidency and the majority's sponsorship of this candidacy? Is the majority really sponsoring this candidacy?

General Awn: "This is an attempt on their part. We have made all the sacrifices, and I was asked to quit and this was what happened. We made all the sacrifices and all our demands were transformed into basic factors, without which we would not exist because we would have been party to the continuation of an abnormal government in Lebanon. Despite all of this they did not accept any of our concessions and they started making other proposals. The Army and its officers are mature and nothing will influence them because they are aware that this was a game to create a clash between the opposition and the Army by rejecting Army Commander General Michel Sulayman. I supported Sulayman and placed him outside the negotiations by the quadrilateral committee. To this day, there are still persons on every side who are not grateful for this, especially those who wanted me to be the president."

Source: Lebanese National News Agency website, Beirut, in Arabic 1901 gmt 5 May 08

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