March 14 on 9th Anniversary of 'Independence Uprising': We'll Stay United and We'd Give Up Anything but State
The March 14 forces commemorated on Friday the ninth anniversary of the “Independence Uprising” that saw the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005 by holding a ceremony that emphasized the importance of the Lebanese state and rejected Hizbullah's actions.
March 14 General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said at the ceremony: “The March 14 forces will remain united and not one of its parties will be victorious over the other.”
“The Lebanese people have grown skeptical of our ability to be faithful to the major sacrifices they made at Martyrs Square in 2005,” he added.
“The March 14 camp will remain united. Its parties will be victorious together or they will be defeated together,” he continued.
“The goals of the camp are greater than whether they will take part in a cabinet or not,” remarked Soaid.
He also stressed the importance of standing against Hizbullah's arms, emphasizing the need for staging the presidential elections.
Phalange MP Sami Gemayel then took to the podium, where he launched an attack against Hizbullah's actions “that have driven the people outside of their country.”
“Our problem with Hizbullah is not that we differ in opinions, but that it did not adhere to democracy and the constitution,” he explained.
“The Lebanese people's lives over the past eight years have been usurped,” he declared.
“What kind of life has Hizbullah led us to that makes parents worry if their children will ever return home from school?” he wondered in reference to suicide-bomb attacks that have plagued Lebanon since Hizbullah acknowledged that it was taking part in the conflict in Syria.
“What kind of life are we leading?” Gemayel asked.
“We have had many disappointments with the March 14 movement because we are facing an uneven battle” against Hizbullah that employs its weapons to achieve its goals, he explained.
“The March 14 movement refuses to respond to violence with violence. I was disappointed with some concessions, but they were made for the sake of Lebanon,” MP continued.
They were made to avoid division and maintain coexistence, he added.
“We have a major responsibility towards our supporters to perform better than we did in the past nine years,” stated Gemayel.
“We must not surrender, but we must defend all that preserves our country. We must wage all battles that will defend Lebanon, its institutions, constitutions, and democracy,” he vowed.
Commenting on the ongoing dispute over the government policy statement, the MP said: “The media is saying that the dispute revolves around a single word.”
“Is it possible that the whole country has reached as standstill over a single word?” he wondered.
“This one word is the 'state' and we will never abandon it because it belongs to all of the Lebanese people,” Gemayel stressed.
“Hizbullah does not realize that the state is the place where partnership between powers is exercised,” he explained.
“The party has no choice but to return to Lebanon. It will return to the state and the Shiite population will no longer remain outside of it,” he added.
“The parents of the youths being killed in wars they have nothing to do with will not remain silent forever,” he warned in reference to Hizbullah's fighting in Syria.
“We believe in a strong state that enjoys modernity, culture, and a competent economy. This is the state that Hizbullah is depriving us of,” he declared.
“The unity of the March 14 camp will remain above all else. Our goal will remain the building of an independent and sovereign state,” he added.
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