Open Letter to President Ahmadi Nejad

Mr. President,

You come as a guest to our country at our President’s invitation. We hope that your visit will support our sovereign and independent country as well as our way of life, just as your predecessor’s visit- President Mohammad Khatami- did and touched all the Lebanese hearts.

However, the duty of hospitality also calls for open honesty. We would not be honest with you if what we believe in is not right and worth saying. We would not be honest with you if we do not seek your friendship on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

The first thing we will be honest about is that a part of the Lebanese take their strength from you and abuse it on the others as well as on the state as an attempt to repeat absurd and unfortunate adventures undertaken by other Lebanese groups successively or concomitantly over many decades. This is half of the bitter truth. Its other half is that you are attempting to interfere in our affairs, just like others that came before you tried to manipulate part of our people; no slogans or good intentions declarations could mitigate or hide the actual truth about such manipulation.

Mr. President,
We heard that you come today under the slogan of “supporting Lebanon in the face of Israel and the United States”. And we are expecting to hear from you offers to arm our state and provide it with other means to further that purpose. We will not discuss your classification of some countries, but we say that your support to the Lebanese state – with your continuous support of an internal party through money and weapons- will be as an act of giving in one hand and ruining what was given in the other hand! This is why we strongly believe that the best thing that you can offer Lebanon, based on your special relationship with the Islamic resistance, is to persuade this resistance to enter the confines of the state… the rest are all details.

As long as the talk relates to the confrontation of Israel and the United States, we draw your attention on your words: “changing the face of the region starting from Lebanon”, and “the defeat of the United States on Lebanese territory” and “wiping out the Israeli state by the force of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon”… These words are far away from being keen on Lebanon as much as it is far from reality. It also shows that your visit is that of a top leader to its forefront. You, Mr. President, are not doing except more of what the Arab countries had done for decades, when they made our country as the only military confrontation area against Israel. Please note that these countries have finally realized their mistake and had previously been kind enough to classify our country as a “support state” rather than a state for confrontation. You, Mr. President do not seem that you are in the process of being aware of this issue since you insist on considering us the “spearhead” in your cosmic battle… will you please have some humility and spare us more of what we have tasted?

Mr. President,

We are not advocates of distancing ourselves away from the causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict, or away from supporting the Palestinian rights. We do not think that anyone in Lebanon today calls against these issues, but it is our right to chart our role in the light of our diagnosis of our national interests, just like all the respectable countries do, including yours. We chart our role and characterize our interest in four main points, starting with the priority of maintaining our unique co-existence since it is considered as our mission to this world and our contribution to its stability. We hold on to the slogan “Lebanon first”, not in the face of anyone, but as a response to all of our past mistakes of putting anything in this world above the interest of our homeland Lebanon. We hold on to the slogan “the state first” since it is our only way to a secure future for all of us. Finally, we adhere to all our Arab and International commitments, especially the Arab peace Initiative, and resolution 1701 since it is considered as the cornerstone in the protection of Lebanon.

Mr. President,

Because of your attempt to put your hands on the Shiite composition in some of the Arab countries, including Lebanon, we are really afraid of a “Shiite issue” in Lebanon and the Middle East, just like that of the “Eastern Issue” in the beginning of last century. Honesty here is a thousand times better than silence about something that is felt by everyone in our region.
The Lebanese Shiites, Mr. President, are an inherent component in our national society, and a crucial partner in our “final homeland to all its citizens”. The Shiites were the ones who proposed the word “final” to be added to the heart of our constitution. Their devotion to their Lebanese identity is not less than any citizen’s keen on this country. This is what has been clearly shown throughout the Shiite’s history in our Republic. It is also what their leaders have called for in the different circumstances, whether by describing them “the cultural window to the world” (Imam Musa al-Sadr) rather than the spearhead of the nations’ games, or by recommending them to “fully integrate into their country and not to invent their own special project” (Imam Mohamed Mahdi Shams al-Din). Those were noble and good calls that are related to the meaning of their presence in this country, and that bypass the whims of politics and the passing calculations.
Finally, Mr. President, we urge you to say the “right word” on which we can build the best relations between our countries, from one state to another. We are seekers of friendship, not amateurs of objection and refusal. The first sentence in the book the right word in this context is the international law which guarantees the sovereignty of the state over its territories and the mutual respect among them.

Signed by:

Samir Frangié (ancien député), Farès Souhaid (ancien député), Élias Atallah (ancien député), May Chidiac (journaliste), Mona Fayad (professeur d’université), Élias Moukheiber (avocat), Chawki Azoury (médecin), Antoine Corban (médecin et professeur d’université), David Corm (ingénieur), Mohammad Hussein Chamseddine (écrivain), Ali el-Amine (journaliste), Omar Harkous (journaliste), Michel Lyan (ancien bâtonnier), Michel Mecattaf (politicien), Alexandre Najjar (avocat et écrivain), Issa Goraieb (journaliste), Michel Hajji Georgiou (journaliste), Michel Touma (journaliste), Ziyad Makhoul (journaliste), Belinda Ibrahim (journaliste), Michel Youssef el-Khoury (avocat), Mayla Bakhache (assistante sociale), Roger Azzam (écrivain et chercheur), Hind Darwiche (journaliste), Jean Badih Harb (avocat), Jean Pierre Katrib (militant des droits de l’homme), Melkar Awad (militant des droits de l’homme), Joëlle Kozaily (journaliste), Joseph Tutungi (membre du comité exécutif de l’ordre de la presse), Michel Abou Abdallah (médecin), Nagib Zouein (militant), Nawfal Daou (journaliste), Ahmad Ayyache (journaliste), Ibrahim Gemayel (consultant), Nady Ghosn (avocat), Pierre Farah (homme d’affaires), Ahmad Ayyoubi (journaliste), Ahmad Youssef (enseignant), Adib Farha (homme d’affaires), Assaad Bechara (journaliste), Ismaïl Charafeddine (travailleur social), cheikh Abbas Jawhari (chef de la Rencontre laïque libanaise), Nadim Abdel Samad, Nadim Koteiche (journaliste), Nazih Darwiche (chercheur), Aline Karim (journaliste), Amale Seif (ingénieur), Amina Mansour (journaliste), Émile Bechkanji (gestionnaire), Émile Najem (médecin), Élie Hajj (journaliste), Élie Hadchiti (gestionnaire), Ayman Abou Chacra (journaliste), Wissam Fayad (médecin), Kamal Dsouki (avocat), Ayman Jezzini (journaliste), Ayman Charrouf (journaliste), Chryssoula Fayad (enseignante), Badia Fahs (journaliste), Charles Jabbour (journaliste), Pascale Feghali, Pamela Nohra Maalouf (chercheuse), Nassir el-Assaad (journaliste), Yolande Georgiou (enseignante), Berry Assaad (médecin), Bassam Abou Karroum (profession libérale), Bassam Gergés (profession libérale), Danielle Gergés (journaliste), Bassam Zogheib, Bachir Assaker (avocat), Bilal Khobeiz (journaliste), Binane Ghanem, Bahia Skafi (journaliste), Pierre Akl (journaliste), Toufic Ghanem (ingénieur), Soraya Chmit (journaliste), Jad Goraieb, Jad Yatim (journaliste), Kamal Batal (ingénieur), Jacques Hayek (entrepreneur), Jean Marc Nehmé (ingénieur), Jean Marie Kassab (industriel), Justine Talvazian (gestionnaire), Jihad Farah (ingénieur), Jawad Achkar (profession libérale), Jawad Abou Mansour (activiste politique), Georges Goraieb (ingénieur et professeur d’université), Joumana Nasr (journaliste), Jilal Fatayri (journaliste), Houssam Gergés (médecin), Houssam Alameddine (journaliste), Hussein el-Wagih (journaliste), Hussein Kassem (enseignant), Hikmat Eid (avocat), Hanin Ghaddar (journaliste), Khaled Abou Chacra (journaliste), Khaled Hachem (ingénieur), Khouloud Abou Khazam (enseignante), Khouloud Ghadieh (employée), Darine Héloué (journaliste), Dalia Obeid (chercheuse), Danielle Matar (universitaire), Rabih Chamoun, Rabih Semaan (profession libérale), Rabih Nokari (employé), Rabih Yassine (journaliste), Raja Noujeim, Regina Kantar (avocat), Ramzi Halabi (profession libérale), Randa Khairallah (employée), Riad Tok (journaliste), Riad Issa (travailleur social), Rayyan Fakih (profession libérale), Rita Hakmeh (écrivain), Rim Itani (femme d’affaires), Raymond Hatem (ingénieur et consultant), Raymond Maalouf (ingénieur), Zahwa Majzoub (professeur d’université), Zeina Tabbarah (journaliste), Sari Khazen (ingénieur), Samer Ayyache (ingénieur), Sami Chidiac (ingénieur), Sami Chamoun (avocat), Sami Itani, Samia Baroudi (militante), Saad Kiwan (journaliste), Saad Matar (homme d’affaires), Salmane Andari (journaliste), Sélim Meereb (enseignant), Sélim Mouzannar, Sana el-Jaq (journaliste), Sania Kabbani (journaliste), Célia Hamadé (consultante), Simon G. Karam (avocat), Chahine Khoury (enseignant), Chehadé Sakr (homme d’affaires), Chawki Dagher (avocat), Chawki Zabad (profession libérale), Sabah Farès (enseignant), Salah Takieddine (journaliste), Talal el-Ahmad (activiste), Talal Khoja (professeur d’université), Antoine Khawaja, Tony Habib (ingénieur), Tony Chebbo (chef d’entreprise), Amer Halawani (professeur d’université), Amer Sibani (journaliste), Abdel-Salam Moussa (journaliste), Abdallah Haddad (banquier), Ibad el-Sokhn (homme d’affaires), Abdallah Zakhia (avocat), Aziz Karam (syndicaliste), Ali Husseini (journaliste), Imad Zein (journaliste), Imad Moussa (journaliste), Ghada Kallas (chef d’entreprise), Ghanem Zebiane (traducteur), Ghassan Derjani, Ghassan Berjas (gestionnaire), Gloria Ayoub el-Khazen, Fady Bustros (consultant), Fady Toufic (journaliste), Fady Antar (médecin), Firas Chrouf (gestionnaire), François Dahdah (ingénieur), Victor Awad, Philippe Souhaid (médecin), Kassem Khalifé (journaliste), Kassem Moussa (gestionnaire), César Bassil (profession libérale), Karine Bejjani (gestionnaire), Kamal Richa (journaliste), Camille Tabet (profession libérale), Lamis Farhat (journaliste), Laure Chelala (employée), Léa Baroudi (consultante), Lina Mantoura (ingénieur), Linda Traboulsi, Linda Khoriati (chef d’entreprise), Marie Feghali (étudiante), Marie Noujeim Harb (gestionnaire), Mohammad Chami (journaliste), Mohammad Harfouche (journaliste), Mohammad Hamdane (journaliste), Mohammad Ghandour (journaliste), Mohammad Fouad Chbaro (journaliste), Mahmoud Ghozayel (journaliste), Marta Zarazir (gestionnaire), Marwan el-Amine, Massoud Mohammad (écrivain), Moustapha Fahs (journaliste), Mouïn Gergés (profession libérale), Mounem Zebiane (profession libérale), Maya Haïdar (avocat), Mireille Karout (journaliste), Mérine Abdel Massih (journaliste), Michel Spiro (gestionnaire), Michel Youssef el-Khoury (avocat), Nadia Masri (journaliste), Nayla Debs, Nabil Abou Ghanem (journaliste), Nabil Halabi (avocat), Nabil Hussein Agha (chercheur), Nabil Kharrat (médecin), Nada Aboufadel, Nada Maatouk, Nada Mehanna (avocat), Nehmé Labbous (journaliste), Nasr Farah (président de conseil municipal), Nahla Zebiane (profession libérale), Nawal Nasr (journaliste), Nicole Fayad (consultante), Hady el-Amine (chercheur), Hiba Abou Chacra (assistante sociale), Hicham Abou Khouzam (poète), Hicham Abou Nassif (universitaire), Hala Meereb (enseignante), Hind Faddoul, Haytham el-Tabch (journaliste), Waël Yaman (journaliste), Wissam el-Amine (journaliste), Walid Abdel Samad (profession libérale), Youssef Bazzi (journaliste), Youssef Zeineddine (travailleur social), Youssef Faddoul (économiste), Adel Moubarak (assureur), Laurice Murr, Nadine Masri (journaliste), Atef Moussa (travailleur social), Hanadi Chami (journaliste), Ali Cheaïb (universitaire-Canada), Ali Halawi (journaliste-Canada), Joe Abou Mikhaël (journaliste), Ghada Arini (assistante sociale), Hassan el-Kotob (chercheur), Mazen Sammak (journaliste), Rosy Daou (chef d’entreprise), Chadi Nachabeh (travailleur social), Dolly Haddad (banquière).