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Aoun: Ruling Bloc under US Tutelage |
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Sunday, 16 March 2008 |
Three years have passed on the birth of the so-called March 14 bloc
thanks to the 'strong general' (the head of the Free Patriotic Movement) Michel
Aoun… a bloc that initially rose up against 'meddling in Lebanese affairs',
called for 'freedom, sovereignty, and independence'. When this slogan was
raised, Aoun and his party wanted it to be concrete and not just a resonant one.
On the 14th of March, 2005 more than a million people demonstrated in central
Beirut to demand the Syrian army withdraws from Lebanon and the government of
then Prime Minister Omar Karameh to step down. The political parties represented
by the demonstrators had earned the name "March 14" powers. General Aoun's
supporters were among them at that time. A year later, months after Aoun's Free
Patriotic Movement split from this force, the March 14 powers became the
February 14 powers, at least to the opposition bloc.
"When General Aoun's supporters were part of the March 14 movement there were
more than a million people filling the Martyrs Square, however when these forces
gathered in the same square to commemorate the first anniversary of the
martyrdom of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Februar 14 2006, they counted
way much less than a million; General Aoun was not with them. This is why they
earned that name," an opposition figure said.
On the third anniversary of the March 14 demonstration, General Aoun compared
his movement's history of struggle that stretches back to more than 15 years
with achievements of those who seized the name of March 14 and exchanged the
tutelage of Anjar (Syrian headquarters in Lebanon before withdrawal) with the
tutelage of Awkar (the US embassy in Lebanon). "To them, March 14 is a
demonstration. But to us it is a march of life that started in 1989 and will
never end because it's the march of a country," Aoun told Al-Manar Television.
March 14, 2005, yielded no perceivable achievements or accomplishments because
of the policies the ruling bloc that followed, Aoun stressed. "We feel that what
we thought we had achieved in this day is illusory, for sovereignty and freedom
and independence have not returned to Lebanon," he said. He pointed out that
"freedom became the freedom of curses and insults whereas independence was still
beyond reach with all countries meddling in Lebanese affairs, giving advices and
even orders."
Aoun stressed the ruling bloc would have ended a long time ago if it hadn't
gained external support. "Their fate is however known. Foreign alliances and
personal interests, rather than the interests of the Lebanese people, were what
really formed this bloc," he stressed, accusing them of turning Lebanon into a
'joined-stock company.'
The so-called March 14 forces hold Friday a general conference in Beirut aimed
to 'reaffirm March 14's existence and spirit, its role in preserving sovereignty
and independence.' Aoun anticipated their meeting to assure that they won't be
unified whatever happens at the conference. "Those people have no common
principles or common values," he said, adding that "any opportunistic cannot
succeed in political group work."
As a conclusion, Aoun invited the ruling bloc to call the occasion as an
anniversary for the demonstration, nothing more.
Source: Al-Manar
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