Salam Calls for Restoring 'Solidarity that Preceded Liberation'
Prime Minister Tammam Salam hoped Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the liberation of the South from Israeli occupation that the Lebanese will manage to restore the “solidarity and national unity” that “protected” Hizbullah's armed resistance.
“I congratulate all Lebanese on this great victory that was achieved through the epic battle of resistance, steadfastness and sacrifice that was fought by all the groups and components of our people,” said Salam in a statement marking the Liberation and Resistance Day.
“We also call to mind the solidarity and national unity that preceded and accompanied this achievement and represented an environment that protected the acts of the resistance, which we hope will be restored these days as we face our political crises,” the PM added.
He voiced confidence that the Lebanese “who together made the achievement of liberation in the year 2000” are capable of “overcoming disputes and putting the national interest first.”
Salam hoped the Lebanese parties will manage to “reach understandings that would revive the constitutional institutions and contribute to preserving security and stability in this difficult period that our region is going through.”
He also saluted “the martyrs of the resistance, Lebanese army and civilians who fell in the South and the rest of Lebanese regions, from the moment resistance against occupation started till the major victory that was achieved in the year 2000.”
Israel occupied much of southern Lebanon for 22 years between 1978 and 2000 and its invading army reached the capital Beirut in 1982. It also fought a devastating 2006 war with Hizbullah in which more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Lebanon.
Hizbullah spearheaded military operations against the Israeli army after the civil war but many political forces criticized the party for maintaining its military structure and huge arsenal of arms after Israel pulled out its forces in the year 2000.
Y.R.
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