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It is unfortunate that the highest levels of the American
government have been penetrated with misinformation alleging that
we—those who fought longest and hardest for Lebanon’s independence from
Syria—are now trying to bring back Syrian tutelage over Lebanon. It is
our sincere hope that America will recognize such misinformation for
what it is: Manipulation and deception from former Lebanese operatives
for Syria whose only interest is the maintenance of their own positions
of power. The history of those who taunt us in foreign capitals would
be empty if not for corruption and submission.
We, on the other hand, represent only the interests of Lebanon and the
Lebanese people. We refuse the notion that our adherence to our
sovereignty, liberty and independence means that we must harbor
animosity and hatred toward others. We seek friendship with everyone
and submission to no one. We are and will remain truly independent, and
we will freely conduct our affairs without any external imposition,
neither Eastern nor Western. |
Our path toward genuine
democracy and freedom in Lebanon will not be sidetracked by those whose
real purpose is to defame us.
After 1½ years, the Siniora government has proven that it cannot
deliver any worthwhile reform to the Lebanese people, nor any valuable
achievement to the international community or human welfare. It is time
for the U.S. Administration to realize that the desire for a new
government in Lebanon comes from the Lebanese people. If the U.S. truly
desires democracy, then let it not lend its support to an
unrepresentative government which came about as a result of a
Syrian-imposed electoral law, and let it work together with all, I mean
all, Lebanese to achieve a government by the Lebanese people, of the
Lebanese people, and for all the Lebanese people.
The desire of the Lebanese to replace a government which has brought
nothing but instability, corruption, and debt upon the Lebanese people,
and to replace it with a new and truly representative government of
unity and reconciliation, should not be looked upon with suspicion, but
rather, with pride and support. Such desire is at the heart of
America’s values. I ought not be the one invoking the American
Declaration of Independence, which says: “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed…[W]henever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government...[W]hen a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing
invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under
absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off
such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
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