LEBANESE PRESIDENT, BRITISH MP GALLOWAY COMMENT ON WAR "VICTORY"

Lebanese National News Agency website
28 Aug 06

Lebanese National News Agency at 1348 gmt on 28 August carries a
report on several meetings held by Lebanese President Emile Lahhud
at the B’abda Palace on 28 August.

The report first details statements made by President Emile Lahhud
during a meeting with a Jordanian delegation as follows:

Statements by Lebanese president

"President Emile Lahhud hoped that the UN secretary-general, who is
visiting Lebanon, would not make Lebanon wait for days and weeks to
lift the blockade that Israel has been imposing on it since 12 July,
contrary to [UN] Security Council Resolution No 1701. The president
asked: Is it not the duty of the UN secretary-general to ensure the
implementation of Security Council resolutions? President Lahhud said
that a new Israeli military round is unlikely because the Israelis
will think a hundred times before committing any new aggression. The
president called on Arab countries to raise their voices and demand
their right and have national resistance, as we did in Lebanon and
achieved victory."

The NNA report says that the Lebanese president made these
statements during his meeting today with a delegation of the Jordanian
professional associations, which came to Lebanon to express solidarity
with the Lebanese people and extend congratulations on "the victory
that has been achieved against the Israeli enemy".

The report then notes that Dr Hashim Abu-Hassan, president of the
Doctors Association in Jordan, delivered a speech on behalf of
the delegation, voicing solidarity with Lebanon and praising its
"steadfastness".

The NNA report says that Lahhud responded by noting that "Lebanon
achieved victory thanks to its national resistance, which fought
for the sake of all of Lebanon and the Arab nation and free people
in the world". Lahhud adds: "This victory was not only over Israel,
but over all the countries that supplied it with the most sophisticated
weapons and most lethal and criminal hardware, which is internationally
prohibited. The world will speak about this victory which was achieved
by Lebanon. So far, the West and the USA have not understood how a
small country like Lebanon managed, through its resistance, which is
not great in terms of numbers, to achieve victory over Israel, whose
army is considered the fourth military power in the world. Regrettably,
they are still seeking to get through diplomacy what they lost in
the war. Some big countries support Israel at the Security Council,
led by the USA."

The report further quotes Lahhud as saying: "On the occasion of the
visit of the UN secretary-general to Lebanon, we told him that Israel
is the one that started the war, and we want compensation for what it
committed against Lebanon. Also, we must reach a cease-fire and not
a cessation of hostilities because Israel uses this pretext to carry
out abortive attacks. We also demand lifting the blockade on Lebanon."

Lahhud said that he had asked Annan to send a specialized team to
examine the destruction and the rubble to find out what type of weapons
had been used by Israel after "it became clear that the Israelis used
cluster bombs, phosphoric bombs and depleted uranium".

Statement by British MP Galloway

The NNA report then adds that Lahhud held another meeting with British
MP George Galloway today. The report says that Galloway congratulated
Lahhud on the "victory" achieved by Lebanon in its war against
Israel. The report quotes Galloway as making the following statement:

"I had an excellent meeting with President Lahhud, whom I have met
several times previously and whom I hold in great esteem. In my
capacity as an MP in the British parliament and one of the leaders
of the anti-war British movement, I am here to extend my condolences
over the great human losses sustained by Lebanon during the Israeli
aggression. I also want to extend my congratulations to the Lebanese
people, especially the national resistance in Lebanon, for the great
victory it has achieved against the disproportionate attack carried
out by Israel, which sustained a historic and big defeat that will be
analysed for thousands of years. In this capacity, I wanted to tell
the Lebanese president and people that Tony Blair does not speak
for us. We are ashamed of the role he played during 34 days of the
aggression. He did everything he could to extend the duration of the
war and deepen the suffering of the Lebanese people in the service of
George Bush and the government of Israel. I wanted to explain that,
by doing this, he does not speak on behalf of our country because
the overwhelming majority in Britain is against Blair’s policy in the
Middle East and against the interest he focuses on in foreign policy to
please President Bush. It is important for him to know this because, of
course, on the official level, all countries, including Lebanon, have
to deal with the British prime minister. This is understandable. But
you should know that public opinion in Britain is with the Lebanese,
not with Israel, and not with the great suffering that occurred here
and that was allowed to occur by Britain and the USA and finally by
the international community."

The NNA further quotes Galloway as saying:

"My feeling is that there is a chance today for a comprehensive
resolution concerning Middle East problems, which caused this war
and all previous wars.

If we fail to seize this opportunity, there will be other wars. The
time is now right, especially since Israel has realized that it can
no longer depend on its military superiority because the days of its
military control are almost over. This is the right time for Israel
and the whole world to decide that they should sit around the table
to reach a comprehensive settlement."

Galloway adds that this means "Israel’s withdrawal from all the
occupied territories, including the Shab’a Farms and the Golan,
respecting the rights of Palestinian refugees, releasing political
prisoners and establishing a real Palestinian state, with Jerusalem
as its capital." Galloway said he is optimistic about reaching this
settlement.

The NNA report says that Lahhud met with other people, including a
delegation from the Amal Movement, an Algerian delegation, former
minister Wi’am Wahhab and the patriarch of Orthodox Armenians in
Lebanon. The report provides details of these meetings.