Lebanese Children Confront Ministers over Current Political Affairs

Following are excerpts of a program featuring Lebanese children confronting ministers over current affairs, aired on NewTV on March 15, 2006.

Michel Boutrous: All the Syrian laborers in Lebanon belong to the intelligence. How come they go in and out so easily, without us noticing? Why didn't you take any security measures to stop them from entering?

Presenter: Just a minute, let's hear what the minister says.

Minister of the Interior Ahmad Fatfat ("The Future" Movement): I think that this question should be directed to me and the minister of labor, because he deals with this issue. First of all, the Syrian laborers enter Lebanon. We share a border, there are procedures, and they enter legally. They do not enter illegally. They have documents. They reach the border and present their documents, and if they need to pay taxes, they usually pay in Syria and not here.

[...]

Minister of Labor Tarrad Hammadeh: Not all the laborers belong to the intelligence. Some of them do. Our security agencies are capable of detecting those who belong to the intelligence among them. When they catch intelligence people working here illegally - our agencies are strong now, and can arrest them.

[...]

Abdallah Isma'il: The ministry of interior is supposed to protect Lebanon and its citizens from any type of aggression. All you ministers do not dare to come to the NewTV studios and hold this interview there, even though, as you said, there are 11,000 security men. So, if the resistance withdraws from the South, who will protect us? If you, with all your bodyguards, cannot protect even yourselves, who will protect us?

Presenter: Minister, let me explain what this is all about. They asked me why we are meeting at the ministry of the interior, and not at the NewTV studios. I told them is was for security reasons.

[...]

Ahmad Fatfat: Because of the specific security considerations today and the bombings, it is only natural that we take precautions. Almost the entire government is present here... almost half the government... It is only natural that they will be somewhere where we can provide them with security.

[...]

Makram Al-'Aqidi: I know that you belong to Hizbullah, right? I'd like to ask why Hizbullah does not join the Lebanese army, or hand in its weapons and become part of the Lebanese Army in the South?

I'll give you an example about the Israelis. If a thief enters your home, and your neighbor gives you a stick, and you beat him for the first time. Okay. You continue beating him, and he goes down to the entrance. You call the Security Council, and if it does not respond, we from all the parties will unite and wage war against him.

Tarrad Hammadeh: This example you gave is correct. If someone steals from you home, you should beat him with a stick, but then protect your home so he will not return to steal again. Anyone who steals once could steal again. This is why we need...

As you know, even from the days of your father, Israel is an enemy that occupied Palestine, a neighboring Arab country, and occupied our own country. It occupied the South, the West Beqa', and our capital, Beirut. Do you know that it occupied our capital, Beirut?

Makram Al-'Aqidi: Yes, I do.

Tarrad Hammadeh: It occupied part of the mountain area, and threatened to occupy all of Lebanon. Boys who were only five or six years older than yourself fought Israel, and succeeded, after many sacrifices... The fathers of many boys like you were martyred so Lebanon would be free, and so it would not be occupied. But this occupation still remains on part of our land, and still threatens part of our lands.

This is why we need two things. The first is to liberate [the Shab'a Farms], just like we liberated the rest of our lands. Just as we liberated Nabatiya, Tyre, Beirut, and Marj 'Ayoun, we must liberate Shab'a.

Presenter: Do you agree with him that the occupation still remains on part of our land? Do you agree with him that the occupation still remains on part of our land?

Makram Al-'Aqidi: So why doesn't Syria give us documents proving that the Shab'a Farms are Lebanese?

[...]

Diala Ahwash: People who belong to the Lebanese Forces do not want a united Lebanon, but a Christian Lebanon.

Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis (The Lebanese Forces): That is not true at all.

Diala Ahwash: I watched a film distributed by the Lebanese Forces, which is against national unity, and I think this isn't just slogans - something is going on behind the scenes.

Joseph Sarkis: I would like to reassure you, Diala, that this is absolutely false. Perhaps people who want to harm the Lebanese Forces distribute such films.

As a top official of the Lebanese Forces, I can assure you that the Lebanese Forces are not trying to establish a Christian state - quite the opposite.

[...]

Michel Boutrous: You said that in the past Israel was against you as well, and it is still against you, and you are against it. But in the past you did form an alliance with Israel against Lebanon.

Joseph Sarkis: We did not form an alliance. You are talking about the time of the war. This was definitely a painful period in the history of Lebanon. Alliances with foreign powers were formed, not only by the Lebanese Forces.

[...]

Makram Al-'Aqidi: Wiam Wahhab appeared on Syrian TV. What a great "honor"... He called Walid Jumblatt "a walking civil war." No one aired this, except for you at NewTV. I don't know why you hate Walid Jumblatt so much. NewTV and Syrian TV were the only ones to air this.

Presenter: We put everyone on air, and do not hate anyone. People who don't appear on certain channels can appear on other channels.

Makram Al-'Aqidi: All I want to say is that Walid Jumblatt is a pillar in the sky, the son of the martyr Kamal Jumblatt. That's all.

[...]

Diala Ahwash: In your dialogue, you must decide on one external enemy - It shouldn't be that each one picks the enemy of his choice, because all the countries have external enemies. Besides, the constitution states that the Jews are our enemy. Whoever says that the Jews are not the enemy commits high treason, and hopefully will be punished.

Ahmad Fatfat: Just one small thing - I'd like to tell Diala that the Jews are not our enemy. Our enemies are the Zionists and Israel, which occupy Palestine.