Following are excerpts from footage of a ceremony for outstanding students, in which Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV honored French Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy. The footage aired on August 29, 2012.

Announcer: We have a tradition of naming each year's ceremony for outstanding students after an outstanding individual. The name of the personality for this year's ceremony will be announced by the student who scored the highest grade on the high-school final exams in general sciences. He is from the Beit Al-Hikma high school in Chehim – Wael Raif Hajj Ali.

Applause

Wael Raif Hajj Ali: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, on behalf of my colleagues, let me welcome you all to the Al-Manar ceremony.

We welcome you to the 8th Al-Manar Festival of Excellence. This year's festival is dedicated to the French international intellectual, Dr. Roger Garaudy.

Applause

Cut to footage of Garaudy

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Le Monde diplomatique Editor Alain Gresh: The history of Dr. Roger Garaudy is intertwined with the history of France, and especially that of the French Communist Party.

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He had very strong positions against Israel...

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Algerian writer Othman Tazaghart: In his book, he shed light on how the Zionists and Israelis exploit the Holocaust. They peddle in it in order to justify their aggressive policies. As a result, he was attacked, demonized, and marginalized for decades.

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Announcer: We are happy to host Al-Manar TV Director-General Abdallah Qassir.

Applause

Interviewer: Why was French intellectual Roger Garaudy selected to be the namesake of this year's festival?

Abdallah Qassir: The truth is that Roger Garaudy is an exception in a world in which many have tried to cast fixed molds. Roger Garaudy rebeled against what he inherited, and was able to boldly advance his intellectual convictions, and he personified the ideological conflict of the 20th century.

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I think that Roger Garaudy, in addition to his intellectual convictions, had exceptional courage in facing political taboos, especially regarding Israel and Zionism. He paid a heavy price for confronting Zionism, and for questioning the Holocaust, its figures, and so on.

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