Former President Lahoud: Surrendering Arms in the Midst of Battle Is Military Treason

By Staff

Former Lebanese President General Emile Lahoud said that “the notion of disarming the resistance at this time is very strange. Handing over arms in the midst of battle is considered treason in military terms—especially when only hours have passed since the burial of a child slain by the treacherous hand of ‘Israel’, joining the hundreds of martyrs who have fallen since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement. This is in addition to daily violations, the ongoing occupation, and the refusal to release prisoners. Even as the Cabinet was discussing Tom Barrack’s paper, the ‘Israeli’ enemy was targeting the Masnaa area and killing Lebanese civilians.”

In a statement, Lahoud added, “On the other hand, Lebanon—particularly the resistance—has clearly abided by the ceasefire agreement. Yet calls to surrender the weapons are growing louder, driven by obvious domestic one-upmanship and accompanied by lectures on how to defend the country. It is therefore necessary to remind these voices that we, alongside our comrades-in-arms, fulfilled our national duty to reunify the army and establish a national doctrine after the civil war—a war in which some of these very people played a role in dividing and targeting it.”

He continued, “It goes without saying that the army’s mission is to defend the nation, and no one knows its discipline and patriotism better than we do. But the state must arm it—bearing in mind that it is currently prohibited from acquiring the weapons needed to face the enemy. Once they agree to arm the army without conditions, we can then discuss the resistance giving up its weapons, especially since Lebanon is facing threats not only from “Israel” but also from other parties with clear ambitions in the country.”

Lahoud went on, “To avoid having our words interpreted as biased, we hope that the so-called ‘sovereigntists’ will show the same zeal for unity when the time for parliamentary elections comes, instead of scrambling and fighting over a single seat.”

He concluded, “Let us repeat, once again, that the gateway to building a better Lebanon remains the adoption of a national electoral law based on proportional representation, in full adherence to the Taif Agreement, which must be implemented in its entirety—not selectively.”