Injustice ultimately hurts its fabricators
By: Elias Bejjani
LCCC Media Chairman
14/11/02
In the aftermath of the Constitutional Council's heretic ruling that annulled the election of MP Gabriel Al Murr, we can't but to declare the death of justice in occupied Lebanon, as we declared dead in 1990 the country's three presidential posts, the cabinet and parliament. The ruling is a horrible disgrace for Lebanon's politicized judiciary because it stems from hatred, grudges, cheap personal revenge, forgery, and subservience to the occupier's will. No masks whatsoever can hide the injustice that was inflicted on Lebanon's human rights. The judiciary body has been stripped of its independence, integrity, sanctity, and most importantly, of its conscience. It has been converted into a subservient body that rewards criminals and punishes the innocent, that imprisons patriots and lets traitors run free, while abiding blindly by the occupier's orders or "faramans". What is actually belittling to the credibility and impartiality of the Constitutional Council and humiliating to its all members is the fact that the news of the annulment ruling spread all over the country two weeks before its announcement. This bitter reality sadly reflects the masquerade behind the evil ruling, since it came from the local Syrian occupation-installed officials and not from the Constitutional Council itself...What a joke!!!

There are no appropriate words to describe this nasty and scandalous judiciary conspiracy. It targeted the seat of the only Lebanese MP to have been legitimately and freely elected since 1990 when Syria completed its occupation of Lebanon and forced the legitimate government of General Michel Aoun into exile. The sovereignists alliance challenged the candidates fielded by the regime in the North Metn by-election last summer and defeated them despite harassment, forgery, bribery, and intimidation.

The annulment ruling is unacceptable, illegal and kind of stupid. How can the highest judiciary body in the country strip an elected MP of his title against the fact that 36,000 citizens voted for him? How can it then appoint a candidate to that seat when that candidate obtained no more than 1733 votes out of a total 70,000 voters? This appointee, Mr. Ghassan Mukheiber, did not even quality to a refund of his nomination fee because of the very low number of votes he obtained.

The conduct of the regime is an act of kidnapping and stealing. It has nothing to do with the law or the constitution.  This mockery of the law is not a surprise to those who are aware of the bizarre dynamics the occupier uses in running Lebanese affairs. Syria is dealing with Lebanon and the Lebanese as a war bounty. Since its barbaric invasion of the free regions of Lebanon in 1990 Syria has been destroying or prostituting anything and everything that is Lebanese. The present era in Lebanese history will go down in the books as one of the most degrading to the Lebanese people. The most corrupt and unethical politicians have been installed as puppet officials, including the three presidents, cabinet members and MPs, none of whom represents the people's wishes or aspirations. They have completely alienated themselves from the people who continue to endure suffering, hardships and pains. Their only objective and concerns are to cater to the Syrian occupation, blindly serve its interests and appease it.

The Constitutional Council is the highest judicial body in Lebanon. Its election annulment ruling is a political and not a judicial decision. It sanctioned the violation of  the nation's laws to serve the cheap political objectives of collaborators with the occupation. It itself breached the law in basing the annulment decision on a petition submitted by another candidate, Mrs. Myrna Murr, who initially broke the law when she ran in the Metn by-election while holding the post of Mayor. Article 22 of the electoral law prohibits such nomination. Mrs. Murr did not have the legal right to challenge Mr.Gabriel Murr's election, and accordingly her petition should have been rejected and not processed.

The Lebanese have no choice but to hold fast to the right of free speech that is protected by the country's constitution. No one can respect or support a regime that can't even allow a peaceful demonstration. The Beirut regime remains a failure in all sectors of national life: The economy, national security, ethics, human rights, the judiciary and justice system, foreign policy, education, media, etc.   

The bizarre annulment ruling indicates that Lebanon is increasingly becoming an oppressive dictatorial totalitarian Stalinist state that is, not surprisingly, a clone of the Syrian Baathist dictatorship next door. The modus operandi of both the Syrian regime and its puppet in Beirut is to divide and conquer. Divide the people, the parties, the officials, the families, and then tell the world that the Lebanese people are incapable of managing their own affairs, in order to justify a continued Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

The ruling has stripped the title of MP of its public legitimacy and belittled not only the Constitutional Council, but also the regime and the occupier whose candidates were flatly rejected by the people of the North-Metn. Instead, the people elected the opposition candidate, Mr. Gabriel Murr.  

"The Constitutional Council, which is supposed to be the country's highest court, has lost all credibility by issuing a pre-set verdict and nobody can believe anymore that it is fulfilling its mission to preserve democracy and the citizens' rights," said As-Safir, a daily close to the Syrian leadership. "The Council has become an instrument of the regime, and has imposed on the Lebanese the choice between itself and democracy while giving up free elections," wrote As-Safir owner Talal Salman. The liberal French-language L'Orient Le Jour denounced the Constitutional Council's annulment as a "judicial trick" and a "masquerade." The daily said Mukheiber has been "appointed ... and can hardly pretend to any kind of popular legitimacy." The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections accused the Constitutional Council "of ignoring the choice of the voters." "If there were true irregularities, it should have annulled the whole operation and requested new elections like it is done anywhere else in the world," it said. "The decision, which the council took for political considerations and reasons of state, is similar to the attitude of the judicial authorities in dictatorships ... to justify repression," it added. The association called on the Lebanese "to oppose the burial of what is left of democracy in Lebanon."

The regime did not have the courage to call for a re-election in a bid to avoid disgrace, humiliation and failure, since such a re-election campaign would result in a far greater mandate by the voters in favor of the opposition.
The Constitutional Council is supposed to be the justice monitor of our nation,  to oversee the decisions of Parliament, and safeguard the Constitution. It is the highest authority in the country, and when it becomes corrupt, no other authority can reverse it. This scary turn of events is yet another step towards the Syrianization of Lebanon, with the clear intent of changing it from a democracy to a dictatorship. The policy of silencing those who do not agree with the regime will not stop Lebanon's sovereignists from speaking up and defending freedom, sovereignty and independence.

We call on the free world and all human rights organizations to help Lebanon's patriots in their endeavors to implement UN Resolution 520. The oppression of our people will end only when the occupying foreign forces withdraw from all Lebanese territory, when legitimate representatives of our people are elected and not appointed, and when Lebanon reclaims its free will and free decision-making process. The people of Lebanon cannot continue to live in fear, they cannot continue to live under occupation.

Mr. Gabriel Murr will remain in the eyes of the 36,000 citizens who voted for him and in the eyes of the majority of the Lebanese people the legitimate elected MP who represents Lebanon's dignity and free will. Meanwhile Mr. Ghassan Mukheiber will have two tags attached to his name no matter what he does or say: The appointed and illegitimate who represents injustice imposed by the occupier.

Long Live Free Lebanon


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