June Wednesday 06-2000:

Introduction

Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary General H.E. Sheikh Nahim Qassem predicted an early and unconditional release for Lebanese hostages detained in "Israeli" prisons. Also, he branded all the "Israeli"-allied militiamen traitors who cannot be equated with the civil war militiamen who were involved in sectarian conflict.

In the meantime, Hizbullah's Head of Politburo MP Mohammad Raad said he feared the Lebanese judiciary might be influenced by the atmosphere of demanding "tolerance concerning the collaborators with the Zionist enemy".

However, Hizbullah paraded triumphantly Monday on armored vehicles and tanks abandoned by "Israel's" proxy militia after the "Israeli" pullout from southern Lebanon.

In a step interpreted by political sources in Beirut as an attempt to pile up pressure on the Lebanese leadership, UN envoy announced that his cartographers have completed demarcating the line they will use to verify whether "Israel's" withdrawal complies with Resolution 425 indicating that both the Lebanese and "Israeli" governments would be dissatisfied with the ruling.

Former president offers congratulation at Hizbullah's Secretariat…(1)

Hizbullah Secretary General his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah played host to former President Elias Hrawi at the party's Secretariat.

“I want to go to the south to offer my congratulations, not as a tourist, but before going to congratulate the people of the south, I had to congratulate those who were behind the retreat of the "Israeli" forces from Lebanon”, Hrawi told reporters after the visit.

"Therefore, I had to visit this man who had offered a piece of his heart for the sake of the south, I mean Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who had lost his dear son for the liberation of the land," he added.

I hope the Syrian Golan Heights and the territories that are still occupied, such as the Shibaa farms, will enjoy the liberation which was bestowed by Allah on the south and the western Beqaa, Hrawi concluded.

UNIFIL is to protect Lebanon from occupation, Hizbullah…(2)

Hizbullah will not forsake one span of Lebanese territories, Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General his Eminence Sheikh Nahim Qassem said.

The Shibaa farms and the disputed border areas are Lebanese territories that we will fight to recover if ""Israel"" does not withdraw from them, he added.

Speaking at a rally in the southern town of Rshaf to mark the passage of one week since the martyrdom of Sheikh of the Resistance Men Ahmed Yahia Hamad Abu Zar, Qassem said, "The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is required to deploy (in south Lebanon) to protect Lebanon from air, ground and sea aggressions."

"UNIFIL is not supposed to ask Lebanon for security guarantees to protect itself, for if it (UNIFIL) needs protection from the Lebanese army and state, then what is its nole? Is it a protector or a force to be protected? " he asked.

"Lebanon needs guarantees that no more "Israeli" aggressions will be launched against it, because it has been the oppressed and the suffering party whose land was ravished and whose people were killed. Lebanon has no guarantees to give to anyone."

Sheikh Qassem said it was strange how some are constantly talking about concern.

It seems that concern in the statements is much more than that on the ground, he said, adding, "however, if some want to reassure the collaborators, I affirm that the collaborators can never be reassured, and must always be anxious."

The collaborators must be tried and punished severely to understand that treason is not acceptable and in order to bar anyone from being enticed into viewing collaboration with the "Israeli" enemy as an easy matter, he said.

"Such punishment will be a grace for the country and the society. No one can ask for pardon, leniency or not trying the collaborators, for they are criminals and killers."

Not taking them to courts will serve as an invitation to others to become collaborators especially as ""Israel's"" threat is permanent and its projects are ongoing incessantly, the deputy secretary-general said.

Qassem called for taking the required interest in Rshaf and the other liberated towns to erase some of the suffering they had been living over the past years.

Hizbullah calls on judiciary to enforce law, punish collaborators…(3)

President of Hizbullah's Political Council MP Mohammed Raad said he feared the Lebanese judiciary might be influenced by the atmosphere demanding "tolerance concerning the collaborators with the Zionist enemy".

The judiciary must collect reports and find the precise facts relevant to the crimes perpetrated against our people and country, Raad said.

Speaking at a commemoration to mark the passage of one week since the martyrdom of Mohammed Khalil and Youssef Khalil in the town of Bareesh, Raad said, "Our national responsibility requires that we punish the collaborators, for taking them to court rescues them and the country."

It is strange how hasty trials that do not take into account the real social and political dimensions of treason and committing crimes against the homeland are held, he said.

MP Raad demanded that a clear scheduled development program is organized to start the process of restoration of destroyed towns.

We don't want improvisation and political investment to be behind the development or the compensations to be given to people, he said.

It is not acceptable to discriminate according to villages, districts, or affiliations for this may lead to a social revolution, he concluded.

Victory parade reaches Beirut
Resistance shows off its captured war booty…(4)

The spoils of war were on display Monday as Hizbullah fighters toured the country atop “Israeli”-proxy militia armored vehicles to the cheers of hundreds of thousands.
The black-clad fighters assembled in Nabatieh at 10.30am, standing on tanks and other confiscated vehicles mounted on flatbed trucks to receive the first of many flower and rice showers which would greet them on their long procession to Beirut.
Thousands of residents converged on central Sidon to meet the procession, chanting Allahu Akbar and paying tribute to Hizbullah’s secretary-general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
From the top of a tank, Hizbullah’s commander for the south, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, shouted to the crowd: “We look forward to the day when we hoist our banners in the Shibaa Farms.
“This victory is for all the Lebanese, Arabs and Muslims,” he added. “This victory is going to spell the annihilation of "Israel" from the face of the Earth.”
He also vowed that Hizbullah’s mission would not be complete until all Lebanese detainees in "Israeli" prisons were released.
“We’re waiting to celebrate the return of the ‘Sheikh of detainees,’ Abdel-Karim Obeid,” he added, referring to the leader still being held in "Israel".
Warning "Israel" against violating Lebanese sovereignty ­ by stealing its water and soil or penetrating its air space ­ Qaouk said that Hizbullah was prepared to continue the fight to liberate Arab land. “We look forward to the day when Palestinian flags fly over the holy city of Jerusalem,” he declared.
There was a refreshing casualness to the procession, a welcome change from the pomp and circumstance of most military parades. Police and Hizbullah volunteers smiled as they pushed the crowd back to clear a path for the vehicles, a futile gesture as observers rushed to greet soldiers and drivers they recognized.
In Ouzai, scores of young boys raced ahead of the march on scooters, waving Hizbullah flags and ducking into the crowd before making another pass.
An elderly man joined his family on a second-floor balcony to throw hard candy to the passing soldiers, scoring a direct hit as one of the projectiles bounced off one soldier’s exposed scalp. Rubbing his head as his comrades laughed, the soldier gave the old man a salute, acknowledging his good aim.
The parade attracted a diverse crowd, not all of whom were Hizbullah supporters. Asef made it clear that he was not a fan of the resistance group. Yet when asked why he made the trek from Baalback to Ouzai, he shrugged: “I wanted to see the "Israeli" tanks and salute the end of the occupation.” Though he did not support Hizbullah’s politics, he was quick to acknowledge its role in liberating the South.
For Asaf, like thousands of Lebanese of all religious and political stripes, the slow procession of victorious fighters  was both a cause for celebration and unity. Shortly after nightfall, the procession arrived in Achrafieh’s Sassine Square, where a brief candlelight vigil was held.

Hizbullah shows off war booty seized after "Israel" pullout…(5)

“ Hizbullah paraded triumphantly Monday on armored vehicles and tanks abandoned by "Israel's" allied militia after the "Israeli" pullout from southern Lebanon.

Shots were fired into the air from a crowd of thousands of people who had aligned on both sides of the Uzai street when the convoy of war booty reached the capital's southern entrance.

The crowd cheered and waved Hizbullah flags, with the word God attached to a picture of an assault-rifle, when Hizbullah guerrillas appeared raising their fists and V-signs amidst the war booty, ferried in on trailer trucks from the south.

Uzai residents slaughtered sheep as the convoy passed, in the popular Arab tradition to honor visitors.

Some 15 to 20 Hizbullah guerrillas stood on each of the US-made M113 armored personnel carriers, half-track vehicles, military trucks and some Soviet-made T-54 tanks.

The war booty was adorned with portraits of Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, his predecessor Sheikh Abbas Musawi, killed in an "Israeli" air strike in 1992, and some of the group's "martyrs" who died in resistance operations against the "Israeli" occupation.

The convoy crossed through various neighborhoods of the western sector of the capital and headed to Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hizbullah stronghold.

The war booty was expected to be displayed in an open space in the southern suburbs, according to Hizbullah followers.

Hizbullah had started the parade in the southern port city of Sidon where hundreds of residents cheered and shouted: "God, God, save our Nasrallah," in reference to the Hizbullah leader whose family name means in Arabic: the victory of God.

Women ululated, threw rice and sprinkled rose water to welcome the convoy of war booty which had been transported there from the port city of Tyre further south and the inland town of Nabatieh.

Hizbullah guerrillas, wearing military fatigues and colored headbands printed with the word "Hizbullah," met the crowd at the main square of this port city with a solemn military salute.

Sheikh Nabil Qauq, Hizbullah's top official in southern Lebanon, told the crowd: "This victory is for all of Lebanon and all the Arabs. The day when "Israel" violated Lebanese sovereignty has gone."

"We declare from here, and "Israel" is hearing our words, that Hizbullah will not let "Israel" violate the sovereignty of Lebanon or steal its water again," he said.

"We look forward to the day we will plant the banner of Hizbullah in the Shibaa farms," a disputed mountain territory occupied by "Israel" since 1967.

Hizbullah guerrillas had seized the war booty left behind by the militia when "Israel" ended 22 years of occupation of southern Lebanon on May 24.

A statement by the Islamic Resistance, Hizbullah's military arm, said the group's guerrillas will carry out a similar parade with the war booty in the port city of Tripoli and other regions of northern Lebanon Tuesday.

The Islamic Resistance had spearheaded the guerrilla war against "Israeli" occupation troops before the Jewish state pulled out its troops from southern Lebanon.

Larsen: both sides will be disappointed
UN envoy to issue withdrawal ruling on Tuesday…(6)
"The United Nations announced on Monday that its cartographers have completed demarcating the line they will use to verify whether "Israel's" withdrawal complies with Resolution 425 but indicated that both the Lebanese and "Israeli" governments would be dissatisfied with the ruling.
The surprise announcement by Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN’s special Middle East envoy, came on the eve of a decisive meeting in Baabda on Tuesday with President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Salim Hoss.
Political sources in Beirut interpreted Larsen’s move as an attempt to pile up pressure on the Lebanese leadership ahead of the meeting.
“Our consultations on this matter are now closed,” Larsen said in his statement, without elaborating on the findings or on the fate of three areas claimed by Lebanon which remain under "Israeli" control.
Contacted by The Daily Star, Hoss said that Larsen telephoned him on Monday night to advise him that the line had been drawn.
The premier added, however, that he would not comment on the matter until after the meeting with Lahoud and the UN envoy at Baabda, which was scheduled for 3.30pm.
A senior political source said that Larsen’s unexpected statement was “a way of putting pressure on Lebanon ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s meeting.”
“If the line is defined as per Larsen’s statement, then what he did was to draw the line without taking into account Lebanon’s reservations,” the source said.
“This will be a violation of both Resolution 425 as well as the UN secretary-general’s report, which clearly stated that "Israel" must withdraw to the internationally recognized border and not to new lines,” he added. “Lebanon government remains committed to full implementation of 425.”
In his statement, Larsen said: “The United Nations is poised to enter the final stage of the process to confirm whether the withdrawal of "Israeli" forces complies with Security Council Resolution 425 and the requirements defined in Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s May 22 report to the Security Council.”
The envoy spoke with Annan and members of the Security Council on Monday, while the cartographers met at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura.
Larsen said that UN cartographers had demarcated the borderline on their maps and promised that the line would be physically marked by Tuesday.
“We have concluded our consultations on this matter. I have informed the governments of "Israel" and Lebanon accordingly,” his statement said. “The UN will complete, by Tuesday, the task of marking relevant portions of the withdrawal line on the ground.
“At this point (the UN can begin) the final process of confirming whether "Israel's" withdrawal is compliant with Resolution 425 and the Secretary-General’s May 22 report can begin,” he added.
The statement, released from UN House in Beirut, quoted Larsen as saying that both the Lebanese and "Israeli" governments have informed him that “some segments of the withdrawal line did not conform to how the respective governments define this border.”
“The United Nations has repeatedly emphasized that its task under 425 is to identify a line of withdrawal and not to demarcate borders,” the statement said.
The envoy also cited Annan’s report to the Security Council, which says that to confirm “the "Israeli" withdrawal, the United Nations needs to identify a line ... conforming to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon based on the best available cartographic and other documentary evidence.”
“The United Nations will then identify physically on the ground portions of the line necessary or relevant to confirming the withdrawal of "Israeli" forces,” it says.
Larsen’s statement said that his team had “followed this mandate to the letter.”
Earlier in the day, the chances for a UN confirmation of the withdrawal appeared less promising, although Annan said that he hoped to be able to certify it “in the next day or so.”
However, Western diplomatic sources said that "Israel" had rejected Lebanese claims to three areas still under the Jewish state’s control: the south of Rmeish and territory facing the "Israeli" settlements of Masqav Am and Metulla.
 

Occupation's provocation continues, enemy aircraft violates Lebanon airspace…(7)
The "Israeli" occupation forces renewed its provocation against Lebanon as the enemy's aircraft at 10:00 a.m. Monday violated the Lebanese airspace.

Another air violation was perpetrated 10 minutes later over the town of Nabatieh.

It was also noted that enemy espionage pilotless drones returned to violating Lebanon's airspace.

The enemy's drones flew on Monday over villages in the districts of Bint Jbeil and Tyre.

Occupation's leftovers hurt more Lebanese in south…(8)
Lebanese civilian Ali Wajih Alaaeddeen, 18, sustained injuries in his eyes and different parts of his body when one of the cluster bombs left over from "Israeli" aggressions exploded near his house in the southern town of Majdal Selem. Alaaeddeen was taken to hospital for treatment due to his serious condition.

Civil groups fear more civilian victims, especially children and adolescents, will fall in similar incidents due to the prolonged "Israeli" aggression against Lebanon as the occupation forces had constantly used this type of internationally-banned weapons.

Killings by "Israelis" may be war crime…(9)

"Amnesty International claims in a report issued today yesterday that "Israel" may have deliberately fired at four Lebanese civilians who were killed after "Israel's" withdrawal from southern Lebanon last week which would, if proved, constitute a war crime.

The humanitarian organisation, whose team has been investigating the killings – including that of a BBC driver – are demanding a full investigation by the "Israeli" authorities.

The report describes how the four men appear to have been targeted by an "Israeli" tank firing from near the "Israeli" town of Misgav Am and records how the BBC reporter Jeremy Bowen called the "Israeli" army spokesman from a neighbouring Lebanese village in an attempt to end the bombardment after his car was hit.

It also contains witness descriptions from other Western journalists on the "Israeli" side of the border who saw an "Israeli" tank firing at the vehicles in which the men were travelling on 22 and 23 May.

"If these attacks were indeed wilfully directed at civilians," the Amnesty report states, "the "Israeli" army has committed war crimes and those responsible should be brought to justice."

Residents beat released collaborator in Houla…(10)
Less than two week following the liberation of most of the Lebanese territories from the "Israeli" occupation, and less than a week after agent Mohammed Ayyoub Fares (from Houla) surrendered to the Lebanese judiciary, one of the judges "acted at his discretion" and released Fares.

The agent's return to Houla Monday morning outraged the residents as Fares had inflicted harm on many of them by informing against them to the occupation forces.

The residents stormed into the collaborator's house and beat him severely. He had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

Hizbullah had warned the authority against leniency in the trials of the collaborators and rushing to release them as though nothing had happened.

The party called on the state to implement justice literally and not to use "acting at one's discretion" or justifying with "old age, sickness" their release underlining that it does not want revenge acts in the villages as a result of the authority's "quasi-pardoning of some collaborators under different headings".

Trials start for Lebanese accused of collaboration with "Israel"…(11)

" The military court ordered Monday jail sentences of up to five years to 100 Lebanese accused of collaboration with "Israel", mostly while serving in an "Israel"-backed militia, in formerly occupied south Lebanon, judicial sources said.

Most accused received sentences of between six months and 18 months, but the court handed down terms of three years and five years to a handful of the defendants, they said.

They were accused of joining the now-disbanded “Israeli” South Lebanon Army militia or Civil Administration, as well as providing information to "Israel" or entering the Jewish state.

The Civil Administration was set up by "Israel" in the border zone in southern Lebanon it occupied for 22 years until May 24.

Forty-five accused had their trials postponed because of lack of necessary documents or a proper defence team, they said.

The 100 accused had pleaded guilty to the charges on the opening day of a military trial for members of the militia and others accused of collaboration with "Israel".

The defence team was made up of 35 lawyers, designated by the Beirut bar.

Of the roughly 1,700 Lebanese who surrendered to the Lebanese authorities or were arrested after the "Israeli" pullout from southern Lebanon, some 500 have been interrogated by the military prosecutor. The rest are still being questioned by army intelligence services, judicial sources said.

Trials for the about 1,700 men and women will be held on mondays, wednesdays and fridays for several weeks in group trials.

Forty-eight of the 1,700 have been released for humanitarian reasons, connected with their age or the marginal role they played, on condition that they abide by residential restrictions imposed by the court.

More than 6,000 Lebanese, mostly “Israeli”-allied militiamen and their families, fled to "Israel" before the pullout fearing trials or revenge attacks.

"Israel" pulls out of border road in south Lebanon…(12)

" "Israel" abandoned a road near its northern town of Metulla Monday, apparently to ease problems over one of three points of disagreement on its borderline with Lebanon, an AFP correspondent reported.

The "Israeli" army withdrew from the road, linking the Lebanese border villages of Kfar Kila and Khiam, which it had banned to Lebanese civilians and kept exclusively for its military patrols since 1986, he said.

The seven kilometre (4.34 mile) stretch of road, eight meters acrossfeet), runs along the "Israeli"-Lebanese international borders and falls within the border zone "Israel" had occupied for 22 years in southern Lebanon until May

Lebanon is demanding that the "Israeli" border fence be moved at three points along the international frontier: on the outskirts of Rmeish in Lebanon, at the "Israeli" town of Metulla, and in Kibbutz Misgav Am inside "Israel".

"Israeli" soldier seriously injured in mine explosion near Lebanon…(13)

" An "Israeli" soldier taking part in mine clearing operations on the border with Lebanon was seriously injured Monday when a mine exploded, military sources said.

The incident occurred in the Metulla sector.

The soldier was initially taken to hospital in Safed, in the Upper Galilee, but then transferred to the Tel-Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv where his condition was described as "serious."

"Israel" withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon on May 24, after occupying a border strip there for 22 years.

Since its pullback, "Israel" has been engaged in modifying its defence lines along the frontier.

Arrests and injuries on "Israeli"-Lebanese border…(14)

" "Israeli" troops arrested 11 "Israeli" Arabs meeting relatives on the Lebanese border Monday, accusing them of disturbing the peace after clashes broke out, an AFP correspondent saw.

The arrests came after hundreds of "Israeli"-Arabs arrived at Adamit, some 15 kilometers (10 miles) east of the Rosh Hanikra border crossing to see their relatives, many of whom fled "Israel" in 1948.

When they climbed the border fence to get closer to the people on the other side, the "Israeli" army which had difficulty controlling the crowd declared the area a closed military zone, sparking clashes.

Earlier Monday four Palestinian refugees were slightly injured when "Israeli" troops used tear gas and percussion grenades to stop crowds on both sides getting close to the border fence at nearby Douhaira.

All the injured were residents of Lebanon, and were among some 350 who had gathered on the Lebanese side.

A 60-year-old man received superficial burns on his foot from a tear gas grenade, while three young women were slightly hurt by shrapnel, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

One woman lost consciousness when a percussion grenade exploded next to her.

The troops used the same means to break up the groups of "Israeli" Arabs who had gathered on the other side, as they had for several days previously.

However, the "Israeli" army announced Monday that the border sector near the town of Metulla, further east, was again open to the public.

It had been declared a closed military zone after clashes involving Lebanese demonstrators throwing stones at "Israeli" troops.

On Sunday several hundred Lebanese gathered at the fence to demonstrate against "Israel". They included a large number of women dressed in black and waving flags of Hizbullah movement, which spearheaded the resistance against the "Israeli" occupation.

Hundreds gather to hail heroes of Khiam
Former detainees share experiences as former hellhole becomes a tourist trap…(15)

Hundreds of families flocked to what used to be the Khiam detention center over the weekend, singing along to patriotic songs blaring from loudspeakers as they walked up the meandering path to the hilltop prison.
Some stopped to buy Hizbullah paraphernalia at one of the stands selling flags, caps and cassettes at the gates of the prison, while others posed for pictures in front of the cells.
“Every day I’m more astounded by the beauty of the landscape in the liberated villages and horrified by what happened in Khiam,” said Shadi Kreidieh, 22, who lives in Beirut but has been staying in the South for a week.
Cameras flashed as schoolchildren from around the country made a pilgrimage to get a glimpse of what the detainees’ daily lives were like.
“I don’t want to go in there because I’ll get claustrophobic,” said Fatmeh, a 15-year-old from Nabatieh, as she posed for a picture outside one of the many tiny solitary-confinement cells. “My God how did they survive this for months, years?”
People crammed through the narrow corridors, pinching their noses and covering their mouths against the stench of urine. They gasped in awe at the small cells where former detainees’ clothing still hung on washing lines tied to the ceiling. “May God help them” said a woman from the Beqaa who brought  her children. “How could they have lived in such conditions?”
It seemed that everyone knew someone or was related to a former detainee and exchanged bits of information about them. “This is where my brother-in-law Hassan lived for eight years,” a young woman told her companions. “Can you believe it?”
Signs guided visitors around the prison and they were free to enter the rooms. Some signs asked that items in the rooms not be touched but several people took souvenirs anyway.
Ibrahim Kalash, a former detainee who spent five-and-a-half years in Khiam ­ and is now the vice president of the National Committee for Detainees in "Israeli" Prisons ­ explained that there were plans to set up a committee to manage the detention center as a tourist site. Kalash has spent the last two weekends giving impromptu tours of the prison to friends and relatives.
“This is where I lived for seven months with four other men,” he said as he walked into a 4-square-meter cell with a tiny hole in the ceiling ­ to let in light and air ­ that he and four other men shared for months. Their daily rations consisted of five olives each and three boiled eggs to share among them. They were allowed to shower once a month.
The prisoners tried to make prayer beads out of the olive pits but the guards started asking for them back to prevent their use, he recalled.
“But this wasn’t the worst place,” Kalash added. “The torture room and courtyard where newcomers were beaten continuously for days was Hell on Earth.”
As he stood in the room where he and other detainees were tortured with electric shocks, a crowd gathered and listened in silence to his detailed first-hand experience.
“You know what the worst thing is?” he asked his audience. “That those same “Israeli”-proxy militiamen men who tortured us are free.”
A middle-aged man walking past one of the tiny confinement cells (just 1 meter by 2),  with a little crack in the ceiling for sunlight to filter through and a black trash bin, stopped to light a cigarette.
“I was in there for four months without any sunlight but that was before the Red Cross came and improved conditions,” whispered Ali Ismail Hussein, stressing that the cell he was confined in measured just half that size.
He had to sleep against one wall with his legs up against the opposite one because it was too small. The only thing that kept him going, he said, was his faith, adding that he even had to pray sitting down.
Hassan Jaber, 32, was just 18 when he was imprisoned at Khiam for a year in 1986. He heard Hussein’s account as he was walking past. “I stayed in there too,” he said. “When we were in there we never knew when we’d be freed.”
An old woman scampering past in the darkness heard the conversation, pushed past the men, and peered into the tiny, dark room.
“Were you in here?” she asked, squinting to get a closer look at the two men, who nodded silently in unison in the half-darkness.
“May the people who did this to you be damned in Hell,” she screamed. “They should be imprisoned in here so that they get a taste of what it was like.”
Jaber shook his head vigorously. “This was a place for martyrs who stood up for their beliefs,” he declared. “Dirty traitors don’t deserve to be in the same place.”
Standing within the barbed-wire exercise area, 60-year Issam Kadri, from Rashaya, said that the government had a responsibility to punish the militiamen and convict them of treason instead of setting  them free.
“A traitor’s a traitor, no matter what sect he’s from, and should not be pardoned,” he said. “The collaborator,” he added, “never had sympathy for the men and women they tortured, so why should we pity them for whatever excuses they’re giving?
“If the government doesn’t take responsibility for them,” he predicted, “I’m sure the public will take justice into their own hands and punish them.”

Beaufort will be transformed into a theater…(16)
The government is planning on building a sound-and-light theater inside Beaufort Castle to project Lebanon’s history and resistance, Nabatieh Governor Mahmoud Mawla announced on Monday.
“The theater will be used for pieces that tell the history of the South and the resistance in liberating the territories from occupation,” he said at a news conference in the castle.
With its excellent view of south Lebanon and northern "Israel", the Crusader-era castle has been a strategic military outpost throughout its 900-year history, including for the "Israelis" who took it over during their 22 years of occupation.
Mawla also said that debris would be removed from the castle and its environs in preparation for construction, which will be funded by the Ministry of Culture. He detailed neither completion date nor cost.
Electricite du Liban and the Ministry of Electricity and Water Resources have promised to provide water and power to the castle, Mawla said.
Separately, he called on artists and students to take part in an art exhibition to be held at Fatima’s Gate in Kfar Kila. Mawla said that the date of the exhibition will be set later.
Mawla noted that special places will be available for artists to work. He also said that the road leading to Fatima’s Gate will be cleaned and rehabilitated soon so that it would be easier for people to visit the area.

Footnotes:

1-            Manar TV, 5-6-2000.

2-            Same source.

3-            Same source.

4-            The Daily Star, 6-6-2000.

5-            AFP, 5-6-2000.

6-            The Daily Star, 6-6-2000.

7-            Manar TV, 5-6-2000.

8-            Same source.

9-            Independent, 6-6-2000.

10-         Manar TV, 5-6-2000.

11-         AFP, 5-6-2000.

12-         Same source.

13-         Same source.

14-         Same source.

15-         The Daily Star, 6-6-2000.

16-         Same source.