Guardians of the Cedars-
National Lebanese Movement
Central Directorate

Concerning the declining morale and "falling of the feasts" in Lebanon during these frustrating times, the Party of the Guardians of the Cedars-National Lebanese Movement issued on 14/2/2000 the following communiqué :

Once more, the spiritual feasts fall on a Lebanon in crisis, floundering in sorrow and lost in a labyrinth from which only a divine miracle will lead Her to an exit.

This is why the celebrations do not bring to the Lebanese the gladness it used to, nor is it the source of joy and delight they once were. They seem to have lost their savor and their meaning and have become mere religious ceremonies the Lebanese only exercise out of duty and without passion or yearning.

This feeling which has become deep set in the hearts of Lebanese is due to the state of anguish, distress and frustration that is still holding them in its grip. There appears to be no end in sight to the dark tunnel in which they have been struggling awkwardly this past quarter of a century. It seems as if destiny has doomed them to carry alone on behalf of humanity the Cross, that the Savior carried, as they commemorate the inauguration of the third millenium of His glorious nativity.

A state of distress has become their daily bread with which they have to live in fear of an unknown future and an indecisive permanence of their country.

This state of anguish is the result of the political licentiousness marking the successive regimes since Independence. Always apprehensive, quick to betray, surrender and bow in vassalage, they all indulged in humiliating and exploiting the people. The present regime has surpassed all its predecessors in servility and subservience, from the Presidency to the to the Parliament and down to the public institutions and services.

This state of frustration is the result of a constant attempt to treat the crisis with cosmetic balms, with brainwashing the public, submitting to a foreign political decision, repressing freedom of speech and subjecting the public to the decision of the Sublime Porte in Damascus. The economy has all but collapsed, bringing to the Lebanese humiliation by crushing their dignity and self-respect, causing the youth to emigrate. It has shattered the poor and wiped out the middle classes.

For all these reasons, we believe that commemorating the feasts during so deep a tragedy is almost immoral, and therefore we have decided to postpone the feasting as we did in the past, until the dawn of freedom and "true" independence will prevail once again.

At the Service of Lebanon,
The chief,
Etienne Sacre.
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