HANNA ATIK: “WE WILL DEFEND THE HOMES OF ARMENIANS IN LEBANON”
Mediamax
Nov 6 2012
Armenia
Narine Daneghyan talked to Hanna Atik for Mediamax.
Hanna Atik is a Christian Lebanese politician and veteran of the
Lebanese Civil War. He is one of the founding fathers of the Lebanese
Forces that was established in 1980. He is also the founder of the
“Lebanese Forces-Corrective Movement”.
– The car bomb in Beirut on October 19 killed 8, and wounded more
then 100 people. It is called the deadliest bombing attack in Beirut
in 4 years. The target of the attack is believed to have been Wissam
al-Hassan, the head of the intelligence branch of the Lebanese Internal
Security Forces. Can you give us a little background on what was
Wissam al-Hassan’s role in Lebanon’s political life?
– General Wissam Al-Hassan is a martyr to all of Lebanon and to all
of its denominations and political parties. He was known to have
worked hard to ensure the security of the entire Lebanese front in
all its diversity and was instrumental in many security operations
including: the dismantling of some Israeli networks operating in
Lebanon, revealing the Michael Semaha conspiracy, fighting Islamic
terrorism especially “Fath Al Islam” activities, as well as cracking
down on other illegal offenses such as kidnapping, money laundering,
and other mob-directed crimes. As such, many theories could be posited
regarding the identity of his killers. However, we must remember that
the Lebanese Internal Security Forces has been targeted several times
in the past beginning with the assassination of Wissam Eid, one of
its highest officials, and ending with the assassination attempt on
Samir Shehade, the previous Head of the Intelligence Branch of the
Lebanese Internal Security Forces.
Once again, we have lost a vital member of the Lebanese Security
Forces. The Lebanese, government and people, mourn this loss.
– The former PM and opposition March 14 alliance leader Saad Hariri
described the bombing as an act of terror and said “he had no doubt
that the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the
attack” and that al-Hassan had been murdered because of his involvement
in the arrest of the former Information Minister Michel Samaha.
– No one has real evidence on who killed the late General al-Hassan and
many fronts could benefit from such an act; we feel it is best to wait
for the investigations to finalize and we ask the Lebanese Judicial
Council to concentrate its efforts to reveal the criminals behind
this heinous act and to put an end to this series of terrorist attacks.
– Do you agree that nowadays we already are the witnesses of Syria
conflict transfer into Lebanon?
– I believe that the revolution of the Lebanese people in 2005, which
I consider to be the “Spring of Lebanon” was the main motivation that
lead to the revolutions that we were witness to in many countries
around the Middle East, ending in that of Syria’s. The key political
players of the West, that were well-known supporters to many of these
regimes and to their dictatorial leaders, abandoned them and that
resulted in their collapse. This rule of thumb we saw does not apply
to Syria, however, for Syria stands on a very strategic cross-road
in the Middle East for the following reasons:
~U Syria holds a major card in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
through Hamas;
~U It holds a major card in the Lebanese-Israeli Conflict through
Hezbollah;
~U Geographically and on a security level, Syria holds a key card in
the Iranian-Arabian-Israel conflict.
Any developments in Syria’s internal affairs, positive or negative,
will have a direct and immediate effect on Lebanon. Till now, the
awareness and efforts of the Lebanese Government, the Lebanese Army
and the Lebanese Intelligence has been able to fail the attempts of
many regional powers endeavor to bring the Syrian conflict to Lebanon.
Thankfully, these attempts are so far unsuccessful and they should
remain so.
– Being a member of Christian community yourself, please tell us what
does the Christian community, especially Armenians of Lebanon think
about the current situation?
– Armenians are mostly devoted Christians. Armenian-Lebanese are no
exception. Therefore, like most Lebanese, I consider the Armenian
community’s position to be part and parcel of that of the larger
Christian community of Lebanon. Unfortunately, the Lebanese Christians
today are divided between two major political groups: March 8 and
March 14th and that is of course reflected within the Armenian-Lebanese
lines. As always, we call for all Christians to unite towards a clear
political mission that ensures their continuity and stability, under
the leadership of our righteous religious Christian figures. We hope
to put an end to the splits we are witnessing today and we strongly
believe that the unity of the Christians is the initial and most
mandatory step to the overall unity of Lebanon.
– Armenia has a large diaspora both in Syria and Lebanon. Because
of Syria conflict lots of Armenians had left Syria. Do you see
it possible, that the same scenario can be repeated in the case
of Lebanon?
– The density of the Armenian-Lebanese is related directly to the
destiny of the Christians in Lebanon and that falls within the
stability of the Lebanese government. Despite the many instances
of instability, there has been an Armenian presence in Lebanon for
decades. The Armenian community of Lebanon is an integral part of
our national make-up and we engulf their presence and will make any
needed effort to preserve it: we shall defend the homes of Armenians
with the same intensity that we defend the homes of all Lebanese,
should the need arises. Hopefully, that will not come to pass. If
things develop in that realm, there will be a huge danger on the
Christians of Lebanon and on Lebanon overall. As the late Pope John
Paul II said, Lebanon is a message to the Middle East and the stability
and continuity of its Christians will strengthen the Christians of
the Middle East overall. Rest assured that should we need to defend
Lebanon, we shall not hesitate, as we did many times before.
Lebanon is the Phoenix, it rebuilds itself from its ashes and no matter
how much they destroy, we will always rebuild. We have undergone many
occupations but we fought hard and our existence has never seized. Our
grandfathers have carved the stones and turned them into an eternal
safe haven. Today, we are seeing a dark cloud over the skies of Lebanon
but our women will continue to give birth to Christians who will ensure
our existence and pose the needed equilibrium in Lebanon’s diversity.
– Is there panic and fear in the streets of Beirut nowadays? Is it
true, that people prefer to stand indoors?
– Not really. The Lebanese are resilient; they have seen worse. Not to
forget, the bomb that killed General al-Hassan also nearly destroyed
an entire neighborhood of Al Achrafiyeh, Beirut. That is not easy
on either those who were directly affected or on those who were not
but sympathize with them. We have witnessed the Lebanese solidarity
at its best in the aftermath. That is, perhaps, the only bright side
of this monumental tragedy.
– How Syrian conflict must be resolved and do you think that Syria
is the last target of Arab spring?
– We hope that soon peace and serenity will occur in Syria and we hope
to see an end to the destruction and internal conflicts, which we once
suffered from in Lebanon for many years. However, we must realize that
the Syrian government is supported by big international players and
that ensures its endurance and the same goes for the revolutionaries
and the ” Syrian Free Army”. Hence, we predict that the conflict will
be long-lasting and could lead eventually to either the partition of
Syria or to a never ending militia-like fighting.
Furthermore, is there really a Spring? That Spring is revealing to be
more of an autumn or even a winter: too much killing and destruction
along factional and sectarian lines. The Syrian Christians are
targeted, along with all other Syrians.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen an extremist side ride the wave of the
Arab revolutions in the Middle East and that has resulted in the
endangerment of the minorities in the region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
