Lebanese politician Awn discusses Hezbollah arms, missing persons

Beirut Al-Manar Television in Arabic at 1334 gmt on 28 July carries live a news conference by General Awn, leader of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement. The relay begins with the news conference already in progress and General Awn speaking about the missing person's issue.

Missing persons

He says: "This is an urgent humanitarian issue that has continued for a long time. It is not just the missing persons in Syria. The missing persons in Lebanon are more than those in Syria." He says that according to some estimates there are about 600-700 missing persons. But, not all of them are in Syria, as there are others perhaps buried in Lebanon, he says.

General Awn calls for the setting up of a committee to cooperate with a DNA bank and a government minister to follow up on this issue. This issue will not end in one or two months and the DNA bank must be brought in, he reiterates, adding: "If there is no budget, we will beg for the money from international institutions and humanitarian organizations." The general reaffirms: "I insist on this issue and I sympathize with the families of the missing persons for humanitarian and not political reasons."

Economy

On national economic issues, General Awn says that the current handling of these issues much change. He adds: "We cannot continue as before. Continuation with the current policy on this issue has led us to debts beyond the Lebanese people's payment capability."

He says: "We all know how many Paris Clubs we have attended; Paris 1, 2, and 3 and God knows we will perhaps attend Paris 4 and 5. If we continue to tackle matters under the principles followed by this government we will certainly not get anywhere. Therefore, we do not want to hear that the government will continue with the same policy. We want a change in the policy, the method, and the payment." So far, he says, the government has resorted to loans and taxes to pay the debts. We want to use the productive sector so that we can pay the interest and retrieve some of the capital, he adds.

Hezbollah arms

On the Hezbollah weapons, General Awn says these weapons must be discussed in the context of a "defensive strategy." Lebanon, he adds, must not concede an iota of its power before resolving all its outstanding issues with Israel, including the Palestinians' right to repatriation. The Arab states that uphold the Palestinian cause and the states that made the decision to establish the State of Israel must assume part of the responsibility, he says.

General Awn says we will not allow anyone to describe Hezbollah and its weapons as terrorist. These are resistance weapons and Lebanon must remain strong with all the factors of strength in it, he says, adding: "It is impermissible for anyone on Lebanese territory to describe Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is an honourable resistance movement."

Having spoken on these three topics General Awn then invites the members of the press to put forth their questions.

An unidentified reporter says that some people fear that the debate of the government statement on the weapons and security issues might reflect negatively on the opposition in the parliamentary elections.

"I have already given my opinion on the subject and made it as clear as possible," General Awn says, adding: "Any slackening on the subject of the right to repatriation will turn against all the Lebanese and Arabs, as well as the Palestinians. What do they preoccupy us with the weapons problem; so as to weaken Lebanon? Who is resisting today? There is a military resistance and a political resistance that complement each other. If we separated them, tomorrow they would forfeit our decision and we would not be able to implement the repatriation decision."

He adds: "Those who are against us should tell us what to do and the diplomatic, international or whatever battle they want us to fight in order to resolve this problem. Everyone gives us lessons. Sometimes they say we are terrorists and at other times they say we cooperate with the terrorists and so on. Let them come and resolve the terrorism issue. Why are Palestinians here; is it due to the good treatment they got in the Dayr Yasin massacre, the Al-Hula massacre, and the other massacres committed in Palestine?" He says: "We have had enough of moral lessons from the West and the East and the self-indulgent theoreticians in their homes."

An unidentified reporter says house speaker Nabih Birri warned that the Syrian respite might expire while the government has not yet drafted its policy statement.

General Awn says: "So what? Let it be a caretaker government and let the Chamber of Deputies proceed with its legislative work." He adds: "Since you put this question, I hope that speaker Birri will hold a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies so that we can vote on the constituencies we agreed upon in Doha."

Asked if he would pay a visit to Syria to discuss the issue of Lebanese prisoners in Syrian jails, General Awn says: "This is the responsibility of the Lebanese Government and not my responsibility."

Asked that reports say that he would visit France, General Awn says this is another rumour.

An unidentified reporter says that the ministers speak against the resistance out of fear that it might turn internally, as happened in the 7 May incidents. General Awn says: "It is a shame for them to talk this way. Those who made a decision in the government to take Hasan Nasrallah to court are they not ashamed? He is the only Arab and Islamic leader who with his resistance resisted Israel. Nasrallah should at least be given the immunity of an MP."

Asked if the issue of the resistance weapons should be referred to the national dialogue, General Awn says that every controversial issue should be referred to the dialogue, including the issue of the missing persons.

A reporter says that the opposition ministers in the government do not want to refer this issue to the dialogue. General Awn says: "They can do what they like. We, the Free Patriotic Movement, want to transfer the issue. We, the Change and Reform Bloc, want to refer the issue also. If some do not want to commit themselves to these issues, we say that we are ready to commit ourselves to them."

Asked if the Tripoli incidents are an extension of the Beirut incidents, as Minister Fatfat said, General Awn says that he doesn't know how the minister has come to this conclusion. He adds: "I am one of those who don't know why this flare-up has occurred in the first place. We have repeatedly warned that these situations must be tackled prematurely and not allowed to develop into battle fronts."

Source: Al-Manar Television, Beirut, in Arabic 1334 gmt 28 Jul 08