Dispute is over Existence and Identity of Lebanon
Michel Mouawad, a member of the March 14 General Secretariat, on Thursday said the time had come for the Lebanese people to find success in Lebanon – as they had abroad – after years of war, Israeli occupation and Syrian tutelage.
During his visit with Lebanese expatriates in Australia, Mouawad said the consolidation of state authority necessitated that the March 14 alliance win the 2009 elections.
“Our dispute with the March 8 coalition is a dispute over existence and the identity of Lebanon,” he said. “In Lebanon there are those who do not recognize its existence and institutions. We are not asking to win on the basis that the opposition represents the devolution of power, but on the basis of a democratic Lebanon.”
Mouawad called on all Lebanese expatriates to assume their responsibility and vote. “We do not buy expatriate [votes]. You are not for sale. You sacrificed for the sake of Lebanon and you are attached to it.”
Mouawad, who is likely to run for a seat in Zgharta in the 2009 parliamentary elections, reiterated his belief that there could be “no state but one,” adding that “The state cannot co-exist with the other weapons. There cannot be a law of the South and another for the North, but one law for all.”
“Despite what we experienced over the past three years: the assassinations, the July War, the export of terrorism from Nahr al-Bared, the May 7 events, the culture of tents and the closure of the House of Parliament – despite the burning of media organizations – we have achieved a lot and, most importantly, what we have achieved is that there are Muslims and Christians side by side, saying together ‘Lebanon first’,” he added.
“We drove out the Syrian army. Together, united, we achieved the Special Tribunal, and this tribunal is a constituent of the concept of democracy.”