Suleiman: Army΄s weapons should embrace the ones addressed against the enemy that was already defeated by Resistance

Source: Al-Manar TV, 1-8-2008
The countdown for the return of the rest of occupied Lebanese land has started, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman announced Friday, reiterating that all means to reach this ultimate goal were legitimate.

Speaking to graduating officers at the Fiadiyeh Military Academy on Friday in the occasion of Lebanon's 63rd annual Army Day, Suleiman stressed that the army's weapons should embrace the ones addressed against the enemy "that was already defeated by the Resistance and the army".
Your duty "goes beyond politics and confessionalism. Maintaining security is your duty, which requires sacrifices," Suleiman told the graduating class, which he named after Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj, who was martyred in a bombing.

"Today, the wheel of the state has begun to roll," he said. "Do not allow any space for corruption and sectarianism in this country, because we are standing in front of the door to dialogue and the achievement of justice. Be the protectors of the nation and the people," the President also told the new officers.

"Lebanon suffered a great deal to fight terror and it needs its army's sacrifices," the president said, stressing that Lebanon's strength comes from the army's unity. He called for unifying the army's ranks, ending internal discord and avoiding corruption to build a capable state.

Suleiman urged the army to confront "violators" to avoid civil strife and stressed the need to safeguard the military's unity. "Do not hesitate to curb violators no matter what their affiliations are," Suleiman told graduating cadets at the Military Academy in Fayadieh. "Isn't it a duty to confront anyone who shoots" at his compatriot? Suleiman asked.

"The Lebanese army fought fierce battles in the Nahr al-Bared camp" at this time last year, Sleiman recalle, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces' summer-long fight against the Fatah al-Islam organization in the northern Palestinian refugee camp, a fight Suleiman himself oversaw, as the army commander at the time. "You have preserved our national unity with your sweat and blood. Do not let it be shaken now," the President said.

Suleiman also named the 2007 graduation class the "Class of United National Will."
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and other officials attended the celebration of the 63rd anniversary of the military institution's establishment.