Speeches
From an Address at the St. Elias Convent Antelias, Lebanon, November 29, 1981
By Bachir Gemayel
May 1, 2007 - 1:13:25 PM

The Struggle For a Unified Lebanon

Lebanon is intrinsically linked to its unity and to the liberty and security of the Lebanese people. Quite simply, this is what we demand for ourselves as a nation. [We] are committed to our freedom and are determined to pursue our struggle until a complete solution to the Lebanese problem is found....

Seven years of war are enough. These years have led the Arabs and the world to a closer understanding of our position as well as to the conviction that our demands are just and legitimate. Just as we reject any compromise of our rights, so we refuse protection. The two are inseparable.

We want to ensure our own protection so that we do not become a burden to anyone—neither a burden to the Christians of the West nor a thorn in the side of the Moslems of the East. Within the framework of national sovereignty, we have full confidence in our ability to perform an active role in the Middle East which is not only cultural, but also strategic. This war in Lebanon has revealed the truth that regional and international understanding of our cause only appeared following our own resistance....

Just as we are not ashamed to carry out our military struggle with the aim of upholding a free and secure nation, we should not feel ashamed of political action leading to the establishment of a civilized and strong state. Idealism is not to renounce power, but to be disinterested once one has reached it....

The role of the Lebanese Resistance has consistently been defensive. It will remain so because we struggle inside constitutionally and internationally recognized Lebanese territory. Those who oppose us support the partition of Lebanon. They support the parcelling out of our sovereignty and the disintegration of our national authority.

Is Lebanon in danger of partition or annexation? In my view, the danger of ­partition does not come from Lebanese Moslems and Christians. The danger we are facing comes from foreigners—from Syrians and Palestinians.

When the history of these events is written, it will not say that Syria safeguarded the unity of Lebanon. Rather, Syria tried to dismember it. It may be argued that the Syrian role in Lebanon was at times in the interest of the United States and at other times in the interest of the Soviet Union. Not at any time has it been in the interest of Lebanon and the Arabs.

The Syrian role does not guarantee an Arab solution to the Lebanese crisis. It only camouflages international Communist expansion in Lebanon and the Middle East under the appearance of Arabism. This becomes clear from the nature of the Syrian presence and that of its accomplices in occupied Lebanon, especially in the Bekaa Valley and in West Beirut.

Danger In The Bekaa Valley

If the Syrian regime regards the Bekaa Valley as a Syrian security zone, then Israel will be prompted to regard it in turn as an Israeli security zone. The Bekaa is at once on the frontiers of Israel and Syria. Should this valley be included in the security strategy of either of the two countries, it will be rendered less secure for both. Only Lebanization of the Bekaa Valley will guarantee the security of all as well as safeguarding the unity of Lebanon and its sovereignty.

Syria, however, is-not looking to the Bekaa for security but for land, just as the Palestinians have come in South Lebanon. South Lebanon was calm and safe during the entire period that it was under the Lebanese Army’s supervision. Today, after becoming an operational zone for the PLO, it is the most dangerous zone in the Middle East. The Israelis have answered the PLO intention to make South Lebanon the base for PLO military operations with an opposing one-­that South Lebanon must be, instead, a security zone to protect Israeli border settlements.

If Syria continues to apply its claims for security in the Bekaa, this region will become another South Lebanon with all that that implies—from the dispatching of international troops to the delineation of the region into a Bekaa south of the Litani River and a Bekaa north of the Litani. We must not forget that the Litani River which flows through South Lebanon originates in the Bekaa and crosses it.

Syria is playing today in the Bekaa Valley the same role the PLO are playing in South Lebanon. They are both engaged in a plan to implant Palestinians in Lebanon, dismantle the country of Lebanon and distribute Lebanese territory. They treat Lebanon as if it were a Middle Eastern bank for making short-and long-term loans of geographical territory—loans at very low interest without guarantees of repayment.

As for the western region of Beirut, Syrian occupation has transformed it into a base for the exportation of international terrorism to Arab countries and the world. The Syrian presence provides this terrorism with a cover, giving it freedom of movement it could find nowhere else. Under the ruse of security measures, which in reality are repressive measures, the Syrian military has implemented a plan to continue and consolidate its harsh occupation.

    What kind of security is this—devoid of liberty, seeking to hide the reality of the occupation? If you are familiar with Ottoman security in the days of Gamal Pacha, Nazi security in Paris or Communist security in Afghanistan, you can understand what is meant by Syrian security in occupied Lebanese territories The repression which the Syrians have imposed on West Beirut, under the name of security, resembles the campaigns of repression waged by the Ottomans in Mount Lebanon. However, there is no need to go back into history. It resembles the repression currently imposed by the Syrian regime on the Sunnite cities of Syria.

Moslems Joining with Christians 

Today, Lebanese Moslems who reject occupation are cautiously looking for the way to freedom. However, they do not yet possess the means or the organization to actively overcome their oppression. On our side, we appreciate the increased restlessness in the Moslem community. We understand the difficulties standing in the way of liberation. Even though it requires sacrifice and heroism, we are hopeful that Lebanese Moslems will overcome their difficulties.

The gathering of all Lebanese within one single resistance to occupation will facilitate the reuniting of a state that will treat everyone equitably, in proportion to what each contributes to Lebanon. Especially in light of recent Moslem leadership positions towards national issues, we feel intense happiness and have high hopes for reunion. Occasionally, this emerging Moslem liberation is limited to expressions of sentiment, but it also expresses itself through political and even military support.

It is time for all of us to meet again as Lebanese, to become a unified collectivity The call I launched to the Moslem communities on this same occasion a year ago remains valid today. My faith in it becomes stronger day by day. It is time for us to meet to define a new constitutional formula for the principle of coexistence. We must ensure security and liberty for the diverse cultural communities of Lebanon, defining equitably the duties and rights of the Lebanese based on the unique characteristics of our country, our customs and practices. The rights of anyone participant in a constitutional formula will not be guaranteed by awarding it two positions instead of one. The security of each Lebanese community will not be guaranteed by permitting two guns instead of one. Only by creating a unified nation will we be able to make of the state a tree that we can tend, instead of a fruit that can be picked.  

Bringing Security to Occupied Lebanon 

Here I am today watching this spirit of unity develop among all Lebanese, in liberated as well as occupied regions. However, to develop productively, its growth in occupied Lebanon must be protected. Why, therefore, isn’t the Lebanese Army being deployed to provide security for the people of occupied Lebanon? If 23,000 Lebanese soldiers are unable to bring back security and freedom to all the inhabitants of West Beirut and its suburbs, then how many soldiers are needed?

At Zahle, 90 members of the Lebanese Forces, together with the inhabitants, were able to defend the city against the Syrian Army for three months. Shouldn’t the Lebanese Army with its thousands of men be able to give back to West Beirut its dignity and honour, especially since the Islamic leadership there is calling for it?

It is absurd for the Lebanese Army to wait for some green light or for some political decision before doing its duty. Reservations about using the Army have existed in every crisis since independence. But there is this important difference today: those who are expressing reservations are foreigners. Meanwhile, Lebanese Moslems, distressed by the result of relying upon other forces for security, have renounced their former reservations and look hopefully towards the Lebanese Army to bring security to their occupied region. The day will come when Palestinians too will call for Lebanese security forces to protect them against Syrian domination. The Syrian regime is attempting to impose its occupation upon the Lebanese Moslems through Communist groups it has placed as so-called “tutors”. Similarly, it is also trying to impose its will on the Palestinians through the Liberation Army and the organizations it has created to infiltrate the Palestinian movement. In other words, the Syrian regime robs the Lebanese of the independence of our country and it deprives the Palestinians of their power to make decisions.  

PLO Occupation of Lebanon 

Just as the Syrians have deviated from the proper course of conduct, have the PLO not also forgotten that their presence in Lebanon is temporary and that they should submit to the law? The Palestinians are occupying large regions of Lebanon, exposing our land, our national identity and our laws to numerous dangers. Palestinian presence is taking on a permanence. This can make the world forget the need to create a Palestinian entity because the world sees the Palestinians as establishing a state on Lebanese land. The solution of both the Lebanese problem and the Palestinian problem has already been made more complicated by the PLO linking the fate of South Lebanon to that of the West Bank.

Let the Palestinians take the initiative of improving relations with Lebanon. For it is not right for the PLO to renounce the use of arms and talk about solving problems with everyone else by political means, while resorting to the use of weapons when dealing with the Lebanese. It is also shameful for the PLO to respect the cease-fire agreement with Israel without also respecting the sovereignty of Lebanon and its laws. It is not right for the Middle East to be a scene for the exchange of peaceful solutions while Lebanon alone is subjected to military solutions.

We see an urgent need to reopen the file on Lebanese-Palestinian relations. The appeal we make to the Palestinians we address also to the Syrians. For in our opinion, the future is far more important than the past or the present. Relations among Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrians can be improved either directly through the channel of the state and its more active leaders or indirectly through the Arab Follow-up Committee.  

Our Goals 

Today, with the appearance of several international and Arab proposals for a solution to the problems of Lebanon, we think it timely to propose a Lebanese point of view for the solution of the Lebanese crisis: 

1. Any solution to the Lebanese crisis must be based on recovery of Lebanese sovereignty over all its territory and recovery by the Lebanese  state of its full powers in a complete and permanent manner.
    

2. Syrian forces in Lebanon must return home. Within the framework of national sovereignty, there must be a strong Lebanese force capable of preserving Lebanese territory as a source of tranquility for Syria.
    

3. The PLO and all associates and related institutions must submit to the authority of full Lebanese sovereignty. There must be a transformation of Lebanese-Palestinian relations from one of hostility to one of confidence in a manner that reflects the transitory character of the Palestinian presence in Lebanon.
    

4. The Lebanese people must agree that any conflict among them will not be settled by force, but by political negotiations to assure that the formula of Lebanese entente remains intact. Because of Lebanese pluralism, this must remain subject to continuous renewal and reassessment based on principles which establish the Lebanese entity. These principles are:

(a) Unity of the Lebanese territory;

(b) Liberty, security and justice for all Lebanese within a democratic government that guarantees basic freedoms for all citizens; and

(c) Continued interaction of Lebanon with its neighbors, and continued membership in the Arab League, with the related rights and duties. 

Although the outcome of the present situation in Lebanon cannot be foreseen, I am convinced of our ability to overcome all difficulties. More than ever before, I believe in the future. The current difficulties will progressively disappear and a free and secure nation will appear. Do not let doubt gain control over you. Isn’t the strait the access to the ocean?

 Bachir Gemayel