Nayla Tueni in Tribute to her Father: Do not Vote for "State-lets" Left behind by Syria
Deputy Manager of the daily An-Nahar newspaper and the daughter of slain Nahar publisher and managing editor, MP Gebran Tueni, on the third anniversary of his assassination on Saturday, said: "They wanted to assassinate An-Nahar and the "Naharists" thinking that they can return Lebanon back to the dark, but they failed."
Tueni explained that the 2009 elections would determine the future of Lebanon, its system and entity, a fact that would force Lebanese to "vote for freedom and for liberals by voting for the "one" state and not for the "state-lets" left behind by Syria," she said.
"Christians must vote for those working to share, for those that will work on preventing a repetition of the past May 7 events, when civil peace was pounced upon," Tueni said.
"The "spring of freedom" calls on the Lebanese to vote for the truth, justice and for those seeking, working and struggling for the International Tribunal, not for those attempting to swindle it," Tueni went on to add that equal and balanced relations with Syria cannot be achieved except via having two embassies at both countries.
She added that Lebanese should vote for those seeking border demarcation beginning with the Shebaa Farms up to where arms are smuggled into the country.
" Vote for those that seek a defense strategy for the nation, for exclusively maintaining arms in the hands of the state," Tueni declared.
"Vote for one weapon, that of the Lebanese armed forces, subject to the Lebanese government, not for arms that receive orders from the exterior, (arms) that wage the wars of others on our land," She said.
"If Syria wants to resist, she certainly can from her own territories and not from Lebanon," Tueni conveyed that Syria must also openly inform Lebanon about the fate of missing and detained Lebanese citizens inside Syria.
She also added that the people of Lebanon must vote for dialogue, peace and for a free relationship with the other, not with those that place preconditions for reconciliation.
Tueni concluded saying:" Gebran”s blood and those of the cedar revolution cannot accept any form of treason."
Gebran was honored on Saturday by the third Arab Free Press Forum in the northern suburb of Antlias in cooperation between an-Nahar and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
WAN President Gavin O”Reilly and Timothy Balding, Director General presented Ibrahim Essa, editor in chief of the Egyptian daily Al-Dustour, was awarded the 2008 Gebran Tueni Award, the annual prize of the World Association of Newspapers WAN that honors an editor or publisher in the Arab region created in memory of Tueni, the Lebanese publisher and WAN Board Member.
The prize recognizes Essa”s commitment to freedom of the press, his courage, leadership, ambition and high managerial and professional standards.
In 2006 the prize was awarded to Yemeni journalist Nadia al-Saqqaf, chief editor of Yemen Times, in 2007 it went to Lebanese journalist Michel Hajji Georgio of the French Beirut daily L”Orient le Jour.
Gebran Tueni joined a chain of martyrs from the March 14 alliance that opposes Syria”s dominance over Lebanon and accuses the Syrian regime of killing ex-Premier Rafik Hariri in a 2005 powerful blast targeting his motorcade in Beirut.
The International Tribunal that would try suspects in the Hariri killing and related crimes is to start operating by March 1, as the U.N. commission probing the killings refers its charge sheet to the court”s attorney general.