July-War Secrets: Exposed by Nabih Berri and Retold by Ali Hassan Khalil (Episode 19)
TRANSLATED from Lebanese Daily As-Safir- Local Editor
Siniora Leads International Disarmament Battle... Chirac, Annan Threaten: War to Go On... Berri: Our Great Endurance Makes Threat Not Worrying... Michel Suleiman: To Counteract in Case of Any "Israeli" Violation
We haven't expected this: One day our political rivals sympathize with our main enemy, making an equation whose results are human casualties and the grand loss of the political spirit of our Lebanese partners.
And there's nothing harder than hearing the news of an air raid which has targeted "Imam Al-Hassan Complex" in Beirut Southern Suburb on the same day that successive political raids follow, whereby the raiders act in Lebanon, New York, and elsewhere. Now Kofi Annan has turned into a Lebanese Ministerial-Council attaché, calling to inquire about the postponement of the governmental session - as if he were getting himself prepared to read its resolutions aloud on the United Nation's rostrum as soon as its standards complied with the international thirst and the local desire
To Imam Al-Hassan (the second Imam of the Shiites after Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him and his Household)) and to the martyred citizens residing in the complex named after him - the ones martyred upon treasonous suspicion, we swear that our internal wars kill us a thousand times before we decide to make our way back to life again. Crowned are we with chivalrous Resistance men who haven't left the battle field. Oh! What disgrace it is to hasten their disarmament!
The attack targeting "Imam Al-Hassan Complex" has been the first present of Resolution 1701 and of the "Israeli" will to abide by it.
But our enemy's mouth has watered for fake news... Instead of targeting Resistance leaders, this enemy had brought about the bloodshed of more citizens, who have been slain upon the request made to the enemy by Lebanese sides. These victims have thought that their shelter was "Imam Al-Hassan Complex", but they haven't realized that history could be copied in all ages and that their fate would turn out to be like that of Imam Al-Hassan (Peace be upon him), who was poisoned by his own wife.
This is a battle which needs blood and weapons; yet, certain political sides have made a communications network with some foreign sides, bringing us breaking news: Kofi Annan says Lebanon will be demolished... Jacque Chirac foresees that the War will go on if Hizbullah does not hand over its arms... The chiefs of "the March-14 Alliance" are making use of the international moment to declare that the time for truth has come... However, we do realize that we make use of time differently from the unsuccessful way "the March-14 Alliance" does; we have never and shall never make their steps.
"We've endured so much, and we're no longer afraid of threats," expresses MP Nabih Berri, who has decided to sustain his communications after his seclusion as he has seen that the premier cannot be trusted with a discussion and that this premier enjoys leaking agreements.
Sunday, the thirteenth of August, 2006, the "Israeli" government, headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, held a meeting to show its stance on Resolution 1701. On the other hand, MP Berri kept his stance, refusing to receive any call or to keep up with the Ministerial Council's performance. Neither did he accept to answer any of the several calls from Premier Fouad Siniora, MP Saad Hariri, and others. Berri was now completely out of sight - even away from his closest people.
At 1:00 PM, Haj Hussein Khalil phoned me to say that Hizbullah had held a discussion and decided that Minister Muhammad Fneish (Minister of energy) and Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would report Hizbullah's stance to the Ministerial Council that was going to hold a session in the afternoon of the same day. The stance included the following points:
"If the issue of disarming the Resistance or moving its arms outside the South Litany Region is proposed, we shall lead a dialogue that is positive, serious, and open. Yet, if the Ministerial Council insists on not understanding our stance, then we are to inform it that:
"Under no circumstances are we to allow messing up with the arms ("And we shall fight and sacrifice our lives for it.")
We are trying to avoid any internal problem the Council is seeking. Yet, if the Council insists on creating such problem, then we'll hold it responsible for this problem.
We've decided that no apparent armament is to exist and that we are to facilitate the entrance of the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to the South Litany Region and their deployment there."
By the time Haj Hussein informed me of this stance, the time for holding the Ministerial Council's session had come closer. Therefore, I asked to speak to MP Berri, who - before his seclusion - had asked the phone operator to divert my call to him upon my potential request. And now I reported the developments to Berri as well as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's latest stance.
MP Berri had still been affected by the atmospheres that existed the day before (Saturday, the twelfth of August). Yet, he became even angrier when he learned that Premier Siniora had insisted on his stance and requested that the Ministerial session hold its session that day so as to sustain the debate regarding the issue of arms and its relation with the deployment of the Lebanese Army. MP Berri, however, asked me to call Haj Hussein Khalil and inform him that the stance of the Amal Movement's ministers "is going to be the same as Minister Fneish's". And I did so.
Having finished talking to MP Berri, I met with Haj Hussein Khalil, who asked me again about MP Berri, so I told him he was still out of sight but that the ministers of the Amal Movement were going to adhere to Minister Fneish's stance. Speaking while on the ground floor, we heard the roar of one of the most violent air raids of the War; the vibration we felt and the terrible echo we heard stunned us: we became silent, looking at each other for more than a minute without saying a single word. Now we wondered what had just happened.
It was obvious that such air raid must have stricken an exceptional target. Since the cellular communications were almost deactivated, we were unable to contact anyone and find out what had happened. Then a television channel reported the news that Resistance commanders had been targeted, but the news was denied soon. Yet, in some way we were able to contact a certain side that informed us that "Imam Al-Hassan Complex" in Roueiss in Beirut Southern Suburb had been razed to the floor. That was another massacre which "Israel" had recorded with the blood of innocent civilians, and this massacre represented a new failure of the "Israeli" security and military systems to finish the July War by targeting at least one of the Resistance commanders.
Sayyed Nasrallah to Berri: To Reveal Things
Haj Hussein Khalil and I continued our session, and I wrote down Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's message to MP Berri: "Sayyed Hassan is shattered because of the way the Ministerial Council acted and declared yesterday, and he says that all of the declarations he has made to the media so far have aimed at maintaining the internal national unity, but the other side has gone beyond all limits. Hereupon, Sayyed Nasrallah sees he should probably appear on TV to reveal things and define the roles of every political team and politician bringing about harm to the negotiation process and stance making. Sayyed Nasrallah says and adheres to what follows:
"●We are to hand over the sites along "The Blue Line" To the Lebanese Army.
●The arms won't be apparent in any of the (Lebanese) regions.
●We shall strictly refuse any break in, search, or even chasing a member of
Hizbullah. Under no circumstances are we to allow such processes.
If cease-fire takes place, then I'll cling to it as well as to the image and reputation of the Lebanese Army.
Yet, we've maintained our dignity even though many of our regions have been demolished and many of our people have been martyred. And if we hand over our arms, then this means not maintaining our dignity. Therefore, we shan't accept this. Minister Muhammad Fneish is to inform this stance to the Ministerial Council while it holds its session, and he is to withdraw from the session without declaring his resignation or suspension of participation; he is to do this in order to avoid witnessing a resolution that has to do with arms."
I confirmed to Haj Hussein Khalil, "MP Berri has asked me to ask the Ministers of the Amal Movement to adhere to the stance you make, and I've done so. But the issue of withdrawal from the session requires further reflection. I'll talk to MP Berri about this issue anyway."
While I was talking to MP Berri, he was firm regarding the necessity of the adherence of all (Amal Movement and Hizbullah) ministers to the same stance, asking me to talk to them fast and to inform them that they are to withdraw from the session in case the Council attempts issuing a resolution against Hizbullah's arms. MP Berri asked me to meet with him in Ain el Tineh immediately afterwards.
Siniora: Handing Missiles Over Is Not Debatable
Having explained directly to MP Berri the details of the last hours' incidents, he asked me to call Haj Hussein Khalil and ask him to come see him after he (Berri) had finished his short seclusion. Also, MP Berri called Premier Fouad Siniora and asked him to "postpone the session of the Ministerial Council so as to allow further consultations until an acceptable stance is reached. This way we can avoid any division and withdrawal from the session which will worsen the interior trouble at such critical moment."
Premier Siniora agreed, and communications were to be sustained after some local calls were made. Yet, Siniora reiterated his stance on the issue of handing over Hizbullah's missiles over, seeing that "this is ‘not debatable', and not both of us have objected on it."
Thus, MP Berri made a refusing response, "It's incredible, Fouad, that you propose what you want, convince yourself it is right, and make your stance on such basis! This is not a good policy. Anyway, since we've agreed to postpone the session, we'll continue discussing this later."
Afterwards, it was leaked from the Governmental Palace that the postponement of the Ministerial Council's session had taken place upon MP Berri's request since Hizbullah did not want to hand over its arms. Big confusion existed, and several ministers, who had just reached the Governmental Palace, interfered with this issue. This made Berri clarify that this issue "isn't true at all". Then he called Premier Siniora to blame him, saying, "You could have said that the Council was going to debate the issue of the dislodged people's return and reconstruction and that some cases are unready. But you want to make the world see the problem!"
Now some ministers and figures of "the March-14 Alliance" exploited what had happened to lead a political-media campaign on the local level, saying that when it was time for ‘truth', Hizbullah refused to hand over its arms. As well, "the March-14 Alliance" led a campaign on the foreign level, provoking the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and some European countries against Hizbullah's arms in the South Litany Region, which "would present ‘danger' in case Hizbullah kept them."
When Haj Hussein Khalil arrived, MP Berri informed him of Siniora's act some time earlier and of the postponement of the governmental session. Berri saw that "such postponement will result in many benefits, whereby it will allow us to check the reality of the cease-fire and "Israel's" commitment to it; as well, the postponement will give us a chance to think quietly about our interest and the Lebanese interest. Yet, I see I should contact the command of the Lebanese Army to make a further check concerning certain details."
Haj Hussein added that the Head of the Lebanese Intelligence Brigadier General Georges Khouri (Currently Lebanon's ambassador to Vatican) met with the Head of Hizbullah Liaison and Coordination Unit Haj Wafik Safa upon Safa's request and informed him that the Lebanese Army Commander (General Michele Suleiman) reiterated the stance he had reported to Hizbullah earlier: Suleiman adhered to coordination and agreement with Hizbullah.
MP Berri replied: "I think Ali Khalil should go meet with General Suleiman and talk to him about his (Suleiman's) vision concerning Resolution 1701 and its fulfillment, whereby Khalil reports our remarks and stance on the whole issue." Indeed, MP Berri phoned General Suleiman, and at once I headed to the Yarzeh Headquarters of the Lebanese Army.
Michele Suleiman: We Shall Maintain Resistance's Achievements
I drove along "Furn Al-Chebbak Route" (Beirut), heading upward to "the Semaan Gallery Avenue" (Beirut). Barely had I driven 200 meters after crossing the crossroads leading to "Hazmieh" (Beirut) when a drone struck the very delta with a missile. Thus, my companion drove as fast as possible in order to reach Suleiman's office several hundreds of meters away.
The big glass pane on the west side of his office overlooked the entire Beirut Southern Suburb, and several maps and papers, which he was studying, were on his desk. Barely had we sat down to begin our talk when successive airstrikes were performed. Thick smoke arose, and we felt the closeness of the airstrikes, so we spoke directly about what we had to do quickly.
I informed Suleiman of MP Berri's message that we adhered to cease-fire, to launching no missiles at all, and to moving into a new stage. Also, I informed him of Hizbullah's readiness to hand over the bordering sites to the Lebanese Army; whereby Hizbullah thought it was the Army's responsibility to prevent apparent armament completely but that under no circumstances could the talk involve Hizbullah's disarmament or the performance of breaks in for this reason.
Michele Suleiman: "I've written a letter to the Ministerial Council, requesting that I get to know my exact authorities, and I have informed the Council that the problem might exist in case the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon) discovered depots and asked the Lebanese Army to break into them and confiscate the arms. I mean: the UNIFIL certainly has relations with the Lebanese people, which will allow the UNIFIL to find out a lot of things.
Also, under discussion is the coordination for the procedure of getting arms out of the South Litany Region, as well as finding a coordination mechanism and guarantees by the United Nations preventing "Israel", which is constantly watching the South Litany Region, from bombarding these arms. And I want to work so as to let the Resistance get these arms out of the South Litany Region without affecting the Resistance men's morale.
Anyway, I have informed the Ministerial Council that I would counterattack "Israel" with my available arms in case "Israel" made any kind of violation. I consider that my responsibility prevents me from tolerating any inconvenient resolution, and I'll call the process of the Army's entrance (to the South Litany Region) "the Joint National Will". In fact, I have begun preparing to issue ‘today's order', which is to include salutations for the blood of the martyrs of the Lebanese Army, the Resistance, and the steadfast people, and I am going to set several memorials in different locations so as to honor the Resistance. You know that many governmental figures say that we (the Army) do not abide by the government's rules and support the Resistance instead.
Actually, many incidents happening during the War have confirmed our support to the Resistance; this is why "Israel" has bombarded the Army's sites. It is among the Army's most important missions to preserve the Resistance's acquirements and achievements. This is why I've asked the government to facilitate my role as I prefer quitting my post to wasting my credibility."
When I went back to Ain el Tineh, I informed MP Berri of General Suleiman's talk, and Berri told me, "While the publisher of "As-Safir Newspaper", Mr. Talal Salman, was here, Premier Siniora called me to inform me that the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called him (Siniora) to inquire about the postponement of the Ministerial Council's session, so Siniora told him that the postponement had happened upon my request. Siniora added that Annan said the UNIFIL wasn't going to arrive in Lebanon if Hizbullah didn't hand over it arms, and therefore, the War would go on, demolishing Lebanon. Also, Annan said that he was going to call the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nijad to inform them of this matter."
Afterwards, MP Saad Hariri made his second call; whereby the first time, he had suggested that Hizbullah's arms be hidden in containers and taken out of the South Litany Region after "Israel's" withdrawal from the place and the entrance of the Lebanese Army and the UNIFIL. Now Hariri informed MP Berri that he spoke to the French President Jacque Chirac, who talked in a manner similar to Siniora's regarding the continuity of the War and demolition in case Hizbullah did not hand over its arms. Hariri said he was personally reporting this upon Chirac's request.
MP Berri replied: "We've endured so much, and we're not afraid of threats anymore. It is required that we hang on patiently in order to maintain our unified interior stance. None will be able to achieve what "Israel" hasn't achieved through this entire War."
Episode 20:
- August 14, 2006: Grand Historic Day
- Military Combat Ceased; Migrants Return
- Berri Salutes Resistance; Nasrallah Declares Reconstruction
Source: As-Safir newspaper, Translated and edited by moqawama.org
Siniora Leads International Disarmament Battle... Chirac, Annan Threaten: War to Go On... Berri: Our Great Endurance Makes Threat Not Worrying... Michel Suleiman: To Counteract in Case of Any "Israeli" Violation
We haven't expected this: One day our political rivals sympathize with our main enemy, making an equation whose results are human casualties and the grand loss of the political spirit of our Lebanese partners.
And there's nothing harder than hearing the news of an air raid which has targeted "Imam Al-Hassan Complex" in Beirut Southern Suburb on the same day that successive political raids follow, whereby the raiders act in Lebanon, New York, and elsewhere. Now Kofi Annan has turned into a Lebanese Ministerial-Council attaché, calling to inquire about the postponement of the governmental session - as if he were getting himself prepared to read its resolutions aloud on the United Nation's rostrum as soon as its standards complied with the international thirst and the local desire
To Imam Al-Hassan (the second Imam of the Shiites after Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him and his Household)) and to the martyred citizens residing in the complex named after him - the ones martyred upon treasonous suspicion, we swear that our internal wars kill us a thousand times before we decide to make our way back to life again. Crowned are we with chivalrous Resistance men who haven't left the battle field. Oh! What disgrace it is to hasten their disarmament!
The attack targeting "Imam Al-Hassan Complex" has been the first present of Resolution 1701 and of the "Israeli" will to abide by it.
But our enemy's mouth has watered for fake news... Instead of targeting Resistance leaders, this enemy had brought about the bloodshed of more citizens, who have been slain upon the request made to the enemy by Lebanese sides. These victims have thought that their shelter was "Imam Al-Hassan Complex", but they haven't realized that history could be copied in all ages and that their fate would turn out to be like that of Imam Al-Hassan (Peace be upon him), who was poisoned by his own wife.
This is a battle which needs blood and weapons; yet, certain political sides have made a communications network with some foreign sides, bringing us breaking news: Kofi Annan says Lebanon will be demolished... Jacque Chirac foresees that the War will go on if Hizbullah does not hand over its arms... The chiefs of "the March-14 Alliance" are making use of the international moment to declare that the time for truth has come... However, we do realize that we make use of time differently from the unsuccessful way "the March-14 Alliance" does; we have never and shall never make their steps.
"We've endured so much, and we're no longer afraid of threats," expresses MP Nabih Berri, who has decided to sustain his communications after his seclusion as he has seen that the premier cannot be trusted with a discussion and that this premier enjoys leaking agreements.
Sunday, the thirteenth of August, 2006, the "Israeli" government, headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, held a meeting to show its stance on Resolution 1701. On the other hand, MP Berri kept his stance, refusing to receive any call or to keep up with the Ministerial Council's performance. Neither did he accept to answer any of the several calls from Premier Fouad Siniora, MP Saad Hariri, and others. Berri was now completely out of sight - even away from his closest people.
At 1:00 PM, Haj Hussein Khalil phoned me to say that Hizbullah had held a discussion and decided that Minister Muhammad Fneish (Minister of energy) and Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would report Hizbullah's stance to the Ministerial Council that was going to hold a session in the afternoon of the same day. The stance included the following points:
"If the issue of disarming the Resistance or moving its arms outside the South Litany Region is proposed, we shall lead a dialogue that is positive, serious, and open. Yet, if the Ministerial Council insists on not understanding our stance, then we are to inform it that:
"Under no circumstances are we to allow messing up with the arms ("And we shall fight and sacrifice our lives for it.")
We are trying to avoid any internal problem the Council is seeking. Yet, if the Council insists on creating such problem, then we'll hold it responsible for this problem.
We've decided that no apparent armament is to exist and that we are to facilitate the entrance of the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to the South Litany Region and their deployment there."
By the time Haj Hussein informed me of this stance, the time for holding the Ministerial Council's session had come closer. Therefore, I asked to speak to MP Berri, who - before his seclusion - had asked the phone operator to divert my call to him upon my potential request. And now I reported the developments to Berri as well as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's latest stance.
MP Berri had still been affected by the atmospheres that existed the day before (Saturday, the twelfth of August). Yet, he became even angrier when he learned that Premier Siniora had insisted on his stance and requested that the Ministerial session hold its session that day so as to sustain the debate regarding the issue of arms and its relation with the deployment of the Lebanese Army. MP Berri, however, asked me to call Haj Hussein Khalil and inform him that the stance of the Amal Movement's ministers "is going to be the same as Minister Fneish's". And I did so.
Having finished talking to MP Berri, I met with Haj Hussein Khalil, who asked me again about MP Berri, so I told him he was still out of sight but that the ministers of the Amal Movement were going to adhere to Minister Fneish's stance. Speaking while on the ground floor, we heard the roar of one of the most violent air raids of the War; the vibration we felt and the terrible echo we heard stunned us: we became silent, looking at each other for more than a minute without saying a single word. Now we wondered what had just happened.
It was obvious that such air raid must have stricken an exceptional target. Since the cellular communications were almost deactivated, we were unable to contact anyone and find out what had happened. Then a television channel reported the news that Resistance commanders had been targeted, but the news was denied soon. Yet, in some way we were able to contact a certain side that informed us that "Imam Al-Hassan Complex" in Roueiss in Beirut Southern Suburb had been razed to the floor. That was another massacre which "Israel" had recorded with the blood of innocent civilians, and this massacre represented a new failure of the "Israeli" security and military systems to finish the July War by targeting at least one of the Resistance commanders.
Sayyed Nasrallah to Berri: To Reveal Things
Haj Hussein Khalil and I continued our session, and I wrote down Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's message to MP Berri: "Sayyed Hassan is shattered because of the way the Ministerial Council acted and declared yesterday, and he says that all of the declarations he has made to the media so far have aimed at maintaining the internal national unity, but the other side has gone beyond all limits. Hereupon, Sayyed Nasrallah sees he should probably appear on TV to reveal things and define the roles of every political team and politician bringing about harm to the negotiation process and stance making. Sayyed Nasrallah says and adheres to what follows:
"●We are to hand over the sites along "The Blue Line" To the Lebanese Army.
●The arms won't be apparent in any of the (Lebanese) regions.
●We shall strictly refuse any break in, search, or even chasing a member of
Hizbullah. Under no circumstances are we to allow such processes.
If cease-fire takes place, then I'll cling to it as well as to the image and reputation of the Lebanese Army.
Yet, we've maintained our dignity even though many of our regions have been demolished and many of our people have been martyred. And if we hand over our arms, then this means not maintaining our dignity. Therefore, we shan't accept this. Minister Muhammad Fneish is to inform this stance to the Ministerial Council while it holds its session, and he is to withdraw from the session without declaring his resignation or suspension of participation; he is to do this in order to avoid witnessing a resolution that has to do with arms."
I confirmed to Haj Hussein Khalil, "MP Berri has asked me to ask the Ministers of the Amal Movement to adhere to the stance you make, and I've done so. But the issue of withdrawal from the session requires further reflection. I'll talk to MP Berri about this issue anyway."
While I was talking to MP Berri, he was firm regarding the necessity of the adherence of all (Amal Movement and Hizbullah) ministers to the same stance, asking me to talk to them fast and to inform them that they are to withdraw from the session in case the Council attempts issuing a resolution against Hizbullah's arms. MP Berri asked me to meet with him in Ain el Tineh immediately afterwards.
Siniora: Handing Missiles Over Is Not Debatable
Having explained directly to MP Berri the details of the last hours' incidents, he asked me to call Haj Hussein Khalil and ask him to come see him after he (Berri) had finished his short seclusion. Also, MP Berri called Premier Fouad Siniora and asked him to "postpone the session of the Ministerial Council so as to allow further consultations until an acceptable stance is reached. This way we can avoid any division and withdrawal from the session which will worsen the interior trouble at such critical moment."
Premier Siniora agreed, and communications were to be sustained after some local calls were made. Yet, Siniora reiterated his stance on the issue of handing over Hizbullah's missiles over, seeing that "this is ‘not debatable', and not both of us have objected on it."
Thus, MP Berri made a refusing response, "It's incredible, Fouad, that you propose what you want, convince yourself it is right, and make your stance on such basis! This is not a good policy. Anyway, since we've agreed to postpone the session, we'll continue discussing this later."
Afterwards, it was leaked from the Governmental Palace that the postponement of the Ministerial Council's session had taken place upon MP Berri's request since Hizbullah did not want to hand over its arms. Big confusion existed, and several ministers, who had just reached the Governmental Palace, interfered with this issue. This made Berri clarify that this issue "isn't true at all". Then he called Premier Siniora to blame him, saying, "You could have said that the Council was going to debate the issue of the dislodged people's return and reconstruction and that some cases are unready. But you want to make the world see the problem!"
Now some ministers and figures of "the March-14 Alliance" exploited what had happened to lead a political-media campaign on the local level, saying that when it was time for ‘truth', Hizbullah refused to hand over its arms. As well, "the March-14 Alliance" led a campaign on the foreign level, provoking the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and some European countries against Hizbullah's arms in the South Litany Region, which "would present ‘danger' in case Hizbullah kept them."
When Haj Hussein Khalil arrived, MP Berri informed him of Siniora's act some time earlier and of the postponement of the governmental session. Berri saw that "such postponement will result in many benefits, whereby it will allow us to check the reality of the cease-fire and "Israel's" commitment to it; as well, the postponement will give us a chance to think quietly about our interest and the Lebanese interest. Yet, I see I should contact the command of the Lebanese Army to make a further check concerning certain details."
Haj Hussein added that the Head of the Lebanese Intelligence Brigadier General Georges Khouri (Currently Lebanon's ambassador to Vatican) met with the Head of Hizbullah Liaison and Coordination Unit Haj Wafik Safa upon Safa's request and informed him that the Lebanese Army Commander (General Michele Suleiman) reiterated the stance he had reported to Hizbullah earlier: Suleiman adhered to coordination and agreement with Hizbullah.
MP Berri replied: "I think Ali Khalil should go meet with General Suleiman and talk to him about his (Suleiman's) vision concerning Resolution 1701 and its fulfillment, whereby Khalil reports our remarks and stance on the whole issue." Indeed, MP Berri phoned General Suleiman, and at once I headed to the Yarzeh Headquarters of the Lebanese Army.
Michele Suleiman: We Shall Maintain Resistance's Achievements
I drove along "Furn Al-Chebbak Route" (Beirut), heading upward to "the Semaan Gallery Avenue" (Beirut). Barely had I driven 200 meters after crossing the crossroads leading to "Hazmieh" (Beirut) when a drone struck the very delta with a missile. Thus, my companion drove as fast as possible in order to reach Suleiman's office several hundreds of meters away.
The big glass pane on the west side of his office overlooked the entire Beirut Southern Suburb, and several maps and papers, which he was studying, were on his desk. Barely had we sat down to begin our talk when successive airstrikes were performed. Thick smoke arose, and we felt the closeness of the airstrikes, so we spoke directly about what we had to do quickly.
I informed Suleiman of MP Berri's message that we adhered to cease-fire, to launching no missiles at all, and to moving into a new stage. Also, I informed him of Hizbullah's readiness to hand over the bordering sites to the Lebanese Army; whereby Hizbullah thought it was the Army's responsibility to prevent apparent armament completely but that under no circumstances could the talk involve Hizbullah's disarmament or the performance of breaks in for this reason.
Michele Suleiman: "I've written a letter to the Ministerial Council, requesting that I get to know my exact authorities, and I have informed the Council that the problem might exist in case the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon) discovered depots and asked the Lebanese Army to break into them and confiscate the arms. I mean: the UNIFIL certainly has relations with the Lebanese people, which will allow the UNIFIL to find out a lot of things.
Also, under discussion is the coordination for the procedure of getting arms out of the South Litany Region, as well as finding a coordination mechanism and guarantees by the United Nations preventing "Israel", which is constantly watching the South Litany Region, from bombarding these arms. And I want to work so as to let the Resistance get these arms out of the South Litany Region without affecting the Resistance men's morale.
Anyway, I have informed the Ministerial Council that I would counterattack "Israel" with my available arms in case "Israel" made any kind of violation. I consider that my responsibility prevents me from tolerating any inconvenient resolution, and I'll call the process of the Army's entrance (to the South Litany Region) "the Joint National Will". In fact, I have begun preparing to issue ‘today's order', which is to include salutations for the blood of the martyrs of the Lebanese Army, the Resistance, and the steadfast people, and I am going to set several memorials in different locations so as to honor the Resistance. You know that many governmental figures say that we (the Army) do not abide by the government's rules and support the Resistance instead.
Actually, many incidents happening during the War have confirmed our support to the Resistance; this is why "Israel" has bombarded the Army's sites. It is among the Army's most important missions to preserve the Resistance's acquirements and achievements. This is why I've asked the government to facilitate my role as I prefer quitting my post to wasting my credibility."
When I went back to Ain el Tineh, I informed MP Berri of General Suleiman's talk, and Berri told me, "While the publisher of "As-Safir Newspaper", Mr. Talal Salman, was here, Premier Siniora called me to inform me that the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called him (Siniora) to inquire about the postponement of the Ministerial Council's session, so Siniora told him that the postponement had happened upon my request. Siniora added that Annan said the UNIFIL wasn't going to arrive in Lebanon if Hizbullah didn't hand over it arms, and therefore, the War would go on, demolishing Lebanon. Also, Annan said that he was going to call the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nijad to inform them of this matter."
Afterwards, MP Saad Hariri made his second call; whereby the first time, he had suggested that Hizbullah's arms be hidden in containers and taken out of the South Litany Region after "Israel's" withdrawal from the place and the entrance of the Lebanese Army and the UNIFIL. Now Hariri informed MP Berri that he spoke to the French President Jacque Chirac, who talked in a manner similar to Siniora's regarding the continuity of the War and demolition in case Hizbullah did not hand over its arms. Hariri said he was personally reporting this upon Chirac's request.
MP Berri replied: "We've endured so much, and we're not afraid of threats anymore. It is required that we hang on patiently in order to maintain our unified interior stance. None will be able to achieve what "Israel" hasn't achieved through this entire War."
Episode 20:
- August 14, 2006: Grand Historic Day
- Military Combat Ceased; Migrants Return
- Berri Salutes Resistance; Nasrallah Declares Reconstruction
Source: As-Safir newspaper, Translated and edited by moqawama.org
