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In 1988,
President Amin Gemayel's term of office was
nearing its end , and the different Lebanese
factions could not agree on a candidate to be his
successor. Consequently, when his term expired on
September 23rd of that year, he
appointed Army Commander General Michel Aoun as
Lebanon's Prime Minister. General Aoun formed a
government that worked toward the reunification of
all parts of Lebanon, freeing Lebanon from all
foreign armies, and the restoration of democracy
and freedom in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Gemayel's
acting Prime Minister, Salim al Huss, also
continued to act as the de facto prime minister.
As a result, Lebanon was divided between a
Syrian-backed government in west Beirut, and the
constitutionally legal government of General Aoun
in east Beirut.
In March 1989, an attempt by Prime Minister
General Michel Aoun to close all illegal seaports,
and stop all kinds of drug production and
smuggling, led to what has come to be known as "Hareb
al Tahreer" or Liberation War. Syrian forces in
the occupied parts of Lebanon opened fire on the
liberated areas in order to bring down the
Lebanese government's agenda. Lebanon's army under
the command of Prime Minister General Michel Aoun
defended the liberated areas against the Syrian
attacks. Shelling by the Syrians and their
counter-parts caused nearly 1000 deaths and
several thousand injuries, and further destruction
of Lebanon's economic infrastructure.
In May 1989, the Arab League empowered a High
Committee on Lebanon, composed of Saudi King Fahed,
Algerian President Benjidid, and Moroccan King
Hassan, to work toward a solution in Lebanon. In
July 1989, the committee issued a report accusing
Syria
of assailing Lebanon's freedom and independence.
After further discussions, the committee arranged
for a cease-fire in September, followed by a
meeting of Lebanese parliamentarians in Taef,
Saudi Arabia.
After a month of intense discussions, the Lebanese
deputies were forced and bribed by
Syria
to agree on a Charter of National Reconciliation
also known as the Taef Agreement. In this
agreement Syria would redeploy its soldiers in
Lebanon, rather than withdrawing. The Lebanese
population residing within the liberated parts of
Lebanon opposed the Taef Agreement, as it violates
national sovereignty. For this, Prime Minister
Aoun issued a decree in early November dissolving
the Lebanese parliament, calling for elections
under the supervision of the United Nations.
In November the dissolved parliament met at the
Qleiat Air Base in northern Lebanon, where they
approved the Taef Agreement and elected Rene
Moawad as a president. Moawad was assassinated on
November 22 by a bomb planted in his armored car,
although he was under strong Syrian protection
(guess who killed him!!!). The dissolved
parliament met on November 24 in the Bekaa Valley
and elected Elias Hrawi to replace him.
The Syrians renewed their attacks on the liberated
Lebanese areas. Meanwhile, hundreds of Lebanese
citizens rallied around the Lebanese Presidential
Palace (Beit el Shaab) to show their support of
Prime Minister General Michel Aoun, and to defend
it against Syrian attacks. On October 13, 1990, a
Syrian-led military operation, in which fighter
planes were used by the Syrians for the first time
in Lebanon, invaded the liberated areas of
Lebanon. Prime Minister Michel Aoun was forced to
take refuge in the French embassy. The French
President, Francois Mitterrand, declared that
General Aoun's safety was a matter of honor to
France, and negotiated Prime Minister General
Michel Aoun's safe departure to France along with
members of his government.
Today
Lebanon is
still occupied by over 40,000 Syrian soldiers,
contrary to what the dissolved parliament had
agreed upon in the Taef Agreement. The government
in power in Lebanon is a puppet in the hands of
Syria, denying people freedom of speech. There are
daily arrests without warrants. There is an outcry
as a result of the terrorizing methods employed by
the Syrian intelligence service against the
Lebanese citizens, coupled with the deteriorating
economic situation in Lebanon. Prime Minister
General Michel Aoun stayed until recently in
France, where he headed a number of international
organizations, working peacefully toward the
achievement of a free
Lebanon.
Prime Minister
General Michel Aoun is finally back to Lebanon…
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