Miqati on Civil War Anniversary: Only Honest Cooperation among Lebanese Ensures Country’s Safety
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Friday that the Lebanese must learn from the country’s civil war and resort to serious dialogue in order to avert dangers.
He said in a statement on the 37th anniversary of the eruption of the war: “Only honest and open cooperation between all components of Lebanese society guarantees real and complete national partnership, bolsters the state, and fortifies Lebanon against dangers.”
“Lebanon must be protected from the painful regional events the repercussions of which we have long warned,” he remarked.
“We must steer away from wrong calculations that have cost us dearly in the past and which we are still trying hard to eliminate,” stated the premier.
“The Lebanese are living in great fear over the present and the future and they hope that constitutional institutions will help solve their problems,” continued Miqati.
“Let us therefore prove to them that we are up to the task and we will not again get embroiled in conflicts that the past has proven are useless,” he stressed.
The Lebanese civil war erupted in 1975 and ended in 1990 by the Saudi-sponsored Taef accord.
About a fifth of the country’s population was lost during the conflict that pitted local and regional powers against each other.
On the occasion of the war anniversary, various civil organizations held different activities to commemorate it, such the activity launched by the U.N. Development Program and EU on the Ain el-Rummaneh bus.
It included a visit to the bus, in Haret Hreik, by Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly.
The attack on the Ain el-Rummaneh bus was one of the key events that sparked the civil war.
13 April 2012, 12:05
01
The Ain el Rummaneh bus was a consequence of the spark of the Lebanese civil war which took place a few hours earlier...
13 April 2012, 12:52
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For the ones wishing and dreaming of a new war see a short and simplified overview---------)
http://www.liberty05.com/civilwar/civil.html
...And for the normal people that never want to see this repeated again, see the overview to remember and never forget.
13 April 2012, 14:25
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umm so it was the killing of the passangers in the bus that started the civil war?not the shooting earlier that morning at a church that killed for people..all you grubs can all go to syria now thats the the trash all end up!
13 April 2012, 14:50
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Man. None of the incidents you mentioned really started the war. It was almost inevitable taking in consideration the foreign conspiracies against Lebanon.
So "Starting the war" by killing four at a church, or killing 29 (mostly) children in a bus doesnt matter. What matters is that Lebanon was fooled into a war that should not be repeated.
13 April 2012, 15:22
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Once the mass media propaganda machine has brainwashed the population, even a simple event can trigger a war.
13 April 2012, 15:59
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tell that to the hezb! there will be no peace in lebanon till this militia keeps its arms and ignores the lebanese laws!
13 April 2012, 21:11
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FT. Hope sooner than later, so we can put our energy on washing away the corruption when we are done with the weapons issue.
13 April 2012, 21:31
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yeah, due time for your friends is in a few centuries from now, you are sooooooo naive....
13 April 2012, 21:49
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What will it take to disarm the militias and put the warlords out of business? It will take the Lebanese population saying to the foreign supporters of those warlords, "Enough." How do you say that in French? Hebrew?
13 April 2012, 22:03
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if lebanon were ready to move on and look in the future and not always looking back to the past as politicians do to accuse their opponents of all evils, several thing should be done:
1/ disarm all militias and citizens and being firm on those who carry weapons by putting them in jail.
2/ rename all political parties by a name other than the ones used during the civil war (kataeb, LF, hezbollah, amal...)
3/ forbidding all the leaders who participated or were involved in the civil war to do any politics.
then we could say that lebanon has changed its mentality and is ready to move on.
but the present political situation proves that those leaders still benefit from the civil war to manipulate people and hold on to their privileges...and lebanese seem to agree, so they have the country they deserve...
13 April 2012, 23:41
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peace, I agree somewhat, however, there should be strict rules on activities of political parties, especially funding.
No political party should be allowed to accept foreign funding - not pointing at HA here - all parties are guilty of this.
Second - need to end confessionalism - I don’t see why a shia cannot be president - or a maronite speaker .
Need to establish a senate to deal with amending the constitution - which can be sectarian in nature and give the minority sects the guarantees they need.
Need to have a personal status law - spelling out individual rights and obligations.
Need to definitely disarm all militia's including ridding all households of light arms.
Finally need to restore law and order to the Palestinian camps - either create a special unit of the ISF to deal with policing the camps. It's rediculous having fugitives running and hiding in the camps to escape justice - and the Lebanese law enforcement is unable to enter to apprehend them!
14 April 2012, 03:30
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Our history and geography puts us with Israel in the South, Syria in the North and Bekaa, if you do not follow the rulers of Damascus then you have to do it with Southern neighbor, ask your grandfathers prior to 1960 what used to happen when Syria and Lebanon used to disagree on matters, our borders used to get shutdown on the Syrian side so that we kneel to their demands. We in Lebanon as Hezbollah or LF, recent M8 and M14 are just the playing cards but not the players unfortunately as our Country has no security treaty with the US or France/Britain as Cyprus.
14 April 2012, 04:40
01
Actually once all weapons are in the hands of the state...that will ensure that we do not go back to civil war.
