Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Lebanese President, British MP Galloway Comment On War "Victory"

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Lebanese President, British MP Galloway Comment On War "Victory"

    LEBANESE PRESIDENT, BRITISH MP GALLOWAY COMMENT ON WAR "VICTORY"

    Lebanese National News Agency website
    28 Aug 06

    Lebanese National News Agency at 1348 gmt on 28 August carries a
    report on several meetings held by Lebanese President Emile Lahhud
    at the B'abda Palace on 28 August.

    The report first details statements made by President Emile Lahhud
    during a meeting with a Jordanian delegation as follows:

    Statements by Lebanese president

    "President Emile Lahhud hoped that the UN secretary-general, who is
    visiting Lebanon, would not make Lebanon wait for days and weeks to
    lift the blockade that Israel has been imposing on it since 12 July,
    contrary to [UN] Security Council Resolution No 1701. The president
    asked: Is it not the duty of the UN secretary-general to ensure the
    implementation of Security Council resolutions? President Lahhud said
    that a new Israeli military round is unlikely because the Israelis
    will think a hundred times before committing any new aggression. The
    president called on Arab countries to raise their voices and demand
    their right and have national resistance, as we did in Lebanon and
    achieved victory."

    The NNA report says that the Lebanese president made these
    statements during his meeting today with a delegation of the Jordanian
    professional associations, which came to Lebanon to express solidarity
    with the Lebanese people and extend congratulations on "the victory
    that has been achieved against the Israeli enemy".

    The report then notes that Dr Hashim Abu-Hassan, president of the
    Doctors Association in Jordan, delivered a speech on behalf of
    the delegation, voicing solidarity with Lebanon and praising its
    "steadfastness".

    The NNA report says that Lahhud responded by noting that "Lebanon
    achieved victory thanks to its national resistance, which fought
    for the sake of all of Lebanon and the Arab nation and free people
    in the world". Lahhud adds: "This victory was not only over Israel,
    but over all the countries that supplied it with the most sophisticated
    weapons and most lethal and criminal hardware, which is internationally
    prohibited. The world will speak about this victory which was achieved
    by Lebanon. So far, the West and the USA have not understood how a
    small country like Lebanon managed, through its resistance, which is
    not great in terms of numbers, to achieve victory over Israel, whose
    army is considered the fourth military power in the world. Regrettably,
    they are still seeking to get through diplomacy what they lost in
    the war. Some big countries support Israel at the Security Council,
    led by the USA."

    The report further quotes Lahhud as saying: "On the occasion of the
    visit of the UN secretary-general to Lebanon, we told him that Israel
    is the one that started the war, and we want compensation for what it
    committed against Lebanon. Also, we must reach a cease-fire and not
    a cessation of hostilities because Israel uses this pretext to carry
    out abortive attacks. We also demand lifting the blockade on Lebanon."

    Lahhud said that he had asked Annan to send a specialized team to
    examine the destruction and the rubble to find out what type of weapons
    had been used by Israel after "it became clear that the Israelis used
    cluster bombs, phosphoric bombs and depleted uranium".

    Statement by British MP Galloway

    The NNA report then adds that Lahhud held another meeting with British
    MP George Galloway today. The report says that Galloway congratulated
    Lahhud on the "victory" achieved by Lebanon in its war against
    Israel. The report quotes Galloway as making the following statement:

    "I had an excellent meeting with President Lahhud, whom I have met
    several times previously and whom I hold in great esteem. In my
    capacity as an MP in the British parliament and one of the leaders
    of the anti-war British movement, I am here to extend my condolences
    over the great human losses sustained by Lebanon during the Israeli
    aggression. I also want to extend my congratulations to the Lebanese
    people, especially the national resistance in Lebanon, for the great
    victory it has achieved against the disproportionate attack carried
    out by Israel, which sustained a historic and big defeat that will be
    analysed for thousands of years. In this capacity, I wanted to tell
    the Lebanese president and people that Tony Blair does not speak
    for us. We are ashamed of the role he played during 34 days of the
    aggression. He did everything he could to extend the duration of the
    war and deepen the suffering of the Lebanese people in the service of
    George Bush and the government of Israel. I wanted to explain that,
    by doing this, he does not speak on behalf of our country because
    the overwhelming majority in Britain is against Blair's policy in the
    Middle East and against the interest he focuses on in foreign policy to
    please President Bush. It is important for him to know this because, of
    course, on the official level, all countries, including Lebanon, have
    to deal with the British prime minister. This is understandable. But
    you should know that public opinion in Britain is with the Lebanese,
    not with Israel, and not with the great suffering that occurred here
    and that was allowed to occur by Britain and the USA and finally by
    the international community."

    The NNA further quotes Galloway as saying:

    "My feeling is that there is a chance today for a comprehensive
    resolution concerning Middle East problems, which caused this war
    and all previous wars.

    If we fail to seize this opportunity, there will be other wars. The
    time is now right, especially since Israel has realized that it can
    no longer depend on its military superiority because the days of its
    military control are almost over. This is the right time for Israel
    and the whole world to decide that they should sit around the table
    to reach a comprehensive settlement."

    Galloway adds that this means "Israel's withdrawal from all the
    occupied territories, including the Shab'a Farms and the Golan,
    respecting the rights of Palestinian refugees, releasing political
    prisoners and establishing a real Palestinian state, with Jerusalem
    as its capital." Galloway said he is optimistic about reaching this
    settlement.

    The NNA report says that Lahhud met with other people, including a
    delegation from the Amal Movement, an Algerian delegation, former
    minister Wi'am Wahhab and the patriarch of Orthodox Armenians in
    Lebanon. The report provides details of these meetings.
Working...
X