The World Council of the Cedars Revolution

Representing the hopes and aspirations of many millions of Lebanese in Lebanon and throughout the Diaspora

2300 M Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC, USA 20037

Phone ( 202) 416 1819, Fax ( 202) 293 3083

www.cedarsrevolution.org

cedarsrevolution@gmail.com

 

 

December 19, 2007

 

H.E. Ban Ki-Moon

Secretary General

United Nations

New York, NY

 

RE: Lebanon on the Brink

       Next Steps to be Taken

 

Your Excellency:

 

On November 23, 2007 the Parliament of the Republic of Lebanon failed to convene according to constitutional mandate to elect a new President. Furthermore, just seven days ago on December 12, Brigadier General Francois Hajj of the Lebanese Armed Forces (“LAF”) was brutally assassinated in the Beirut suburb of Baabda. This brutal crime marks a dangerous turning point in the quest of the Syro/Iranian Axis to return Lebanon to their total control. Hajj, 54, who was close to army commander Michel Sleiman and tipped to be his successor, was killed along with his bodyguard in a rush-hour blast. This was the first assassination of a high ranking officer of the LAF in decades.  Brigadier General Hajj was killed to preempt the implementation of UNSCR 1559. Therefore it is the responsibility of the UN Security Council to direct its assets to investigate the murder and to bring the Terrorists to justice.

 

With the assassination of Hajj, the pro-democracy majority of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora is now facing the reality of terrorism once again and the prospect of the destruction of Lebanon. But this time the violence was directed against the very institution which is supposed to protect this nascent democracy, the future President, the Parliament and civil society: The Lebanese Armed Forces. The logical next steps are for the current Government in Lebanon and its legislative majority, which enjoy widespread international acceptance, to ask the United Nations Security Council to issue a new resolution calling for the following vital measures:

 

a.   Placing UNSCR 1559 (withdrawal of Syrians, disarming Hezbollah and electing a new President) under the authority of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter;

 

b.   Reiterating the urgency of implementin UNSCR 1680,

 

c.   Supervising the election of a new President of the Republic under UN protection and according to the principle of 50 plus 1; and,

d.   Equipping, training and supporting the LAF to be able to confront the Terror campaign directed against

 it and Lebanese civil society.

 

If the legislative majority fails to make the requests listed above, The World Council of the Cedars Revolution (“WCCR”) feels that it is clearly within the authority of the Security Council to act unilaterally to protect the Lebanese Republic from disintegration. Furthermore the WCCR calls on UN authorities to investigate the security and paramilitary networks which operate in Lebanon outside the structure of the LAF and Internal Security Forces (“ISF”) and outside the UNIFIL. These networks are under the control of a main pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian organization called Hezbollah. This group calls itself the "resistance" and openly declares its possession of thousands of rockets, large militias, suicide bombers and intelligence services, all outside the supervision and control of the Lebanese state security and the UNIFIL.

 

The assassination of Brigadier General Hajj must prompt an investigation of the secretary general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. It would be entirely appropriate to summons Nasrallah to the Hague to answer to war crimes charges. This would show UN resolve in fighting the forces of terror and would be a huge symbolic blow to its perpetrators.

 

Lastly, the WCCR wishes to inform the Security Council that it should be aware that the principles of the Cedars Revolution require strong and decisive leadership from the new President, Parliament and Cabinet in the following critical areas:

 

1. Replacing “privileged” relations between Lebanon and Syria according to the Taif Agreement with normal diplomatic relations;

 

  1. Abolishing the privilege granted to Hezbollah as a “resistance”;
  2. Cancelling the Lebanese-Syrian Cooperation and Brotherhood Treaty which was enacted by duress by the Lebanese Parliament under Syrian occupation;
  3. Dismantling the “joint operation room” between the Syrian regime, the Lebanese State and Hezbollah;
  4. Deploying LAF forces along the Lebanese-Syrian borders in order to stop the illegal flow of weapons, men and logistics destined to militant groups;
  5. Declaring, prior to election, that the new President and government will commit to the full implementation of UNSCR 1559 and 1701 under international auspices and not under the influence and intimidation of terrorist militias; and,
  6. Committing the new President, prior to election, to work fully with the United Nations and the International Tribunal to implement and execute the decisions and judgments of the tribunal and to support the judicial process to ensure that justice is served in prosecuting the murderers of Prime Minister Hariri through and including General Hajj.

 

The UN must act swiftly and promptly to address the Terror campaign in Lebanon before it strikes again. The Security Council has issued resolutions pertaining to this threat and thus it must defend these resolutions and protect those who are in charge of its implementation.

 

Joe Baini,

President

  

Tom Harb

Secretary General   

 

John Hajjar,

US Director

  

Eblan Y. Farris,

Information Director

 

Cc: Members of UN Security Council