The speeches of the Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun in the honoring ceremony of the martyr soldiers and in the honoring ceremony of the units that participated in the "Dawn of the Jurds" operation
Speech of the Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun at the ceremony in honor of the martyr soldiers at the Ministry of Defense yard
Excellency, President of the Republic General Michel Aoun
Excellency, Speaker Nabih Berri
Excellency, Prime Minister Sheikh Saad el-Hariri
Esteemed heads of Security Agencies
Esteemed social, religious and official figures
Family members of the martyrs – esteemed audience
We are gathered here today on this emotional occasion that is filled with great sacrifices offered by the sons of the Military Institution who declared their complete readiness to defend the country and to martyr for its sake the minute they were abducted by the hands of brutal terrorists and thus our abducted soldiers turned into the epitome of “Dawn of the Jurds” battle.
Excellency, President of the Lebanese Republic General Michel Aoun
Your presence in person with the first lights of that dawn inside the Army Command’s operation room had an immense impact over the morale of the Army where you have followed the course of the battle and spoke to the hero officers and soldiers who engaged in the battlefield and you have expressed your total support and ultimate confidence in their victory over terrorism. Furthermore, you have confirmed to the Lebanese people and to the whole world that the Army and its martyrs shall safeguard the Lebanese territories and that vanquishing terrorism will be the definite result. His Excellency the Speaker Nabih Berri has expressed the same stance knowing that he repeatedly showed his support to the Military Institution and voiced his backing to this institution throughout different situations by reiterating his famous saying “the Army is always right”. His Excellency Prime Minister Saad el-Hariri has visited the territories that we have recaptured and met with the soldiers in the field where he uttered his total support to achieve the missions that we were charged with. The “Dawn of the Jurds” battle would not have been a success had it not been for the support of each and everyone one of you and for the sovereign decision taken by the Lebanese government.
Our hero martyrs
Our joy in the victory over terrorism remains sorrowful for we were hoping that we manage to free you unharmed from the hands of terrorism so that you may return to your Army and families in order to participate with us in this historic achievement. However, the barbaric terrorism feared your strong belief in your country and transformed you into venerable martyrs under our country’s soil that is now blessed thanks to your virtuous blood. The feelings of reverence and awe are mixed in your presence and our heads bow in honor and respect before your coffins, however, our heads shall forever stand high thanks to you and to your sacrifices after you have become the medals that adorn the chests of the officers, NCOs and soldiers who participated in “Dawn of the Jurds” battle since you were first to sacrifice yourselves.
Hero soldiers
On behalf of Lebanon and the martyr abducted soldiers, the blood of the pious martyrs and on behalf of the heroes in our great army, we have declared the beginning of “Dawn of the Jurds” operation and its objectives are accomplished.
You have rushed into the battlefield with an invincible combat will where you have muscled your professionalism, bravery and heroism and showed that you are the force that made this victory and recaptured the land.
Nevertheless, and despite the importance of this historic achievement, we shall never forget that cancerous terrorist cells remain hidden in our country and might attempt to avenge for their loss after we have drove them away and put an end to all their barbaric ways among which the lone wolf attacks and this necessitates that we remain vigilant and ready to confront them and annihilate them.
Beloved families of martyrs
Your sons are main partners in achieving this victory and in the pride of being an icon for liberation and for the defeat of terrorism!
They are our pride. They have inhabited the hearts of all the Lebanese, for through their sacrifices we have fought the “Dawn of the Jurds” battle and the Lebanese have united around the army and its sacred mission. As a result, our battle was honorable, clean and heroic, enlightened by the beacon of the sacrifices offered by your martyr sons! The years of waiting and hope for their return were difficult and harsh. However, you have never lost your trust in the Military Institution and your belief in the nation for which sake the most valuable of sacrifices are offered.
Esteemed audience
Despite this victory, major sacrifices remain ahead of us and are as important as defeating global terrorism, for the army will be deployed from now on at the eastern border in order to defend it. Lest we forget the main and most important terrorism which is lurking at the border with our dear South: the Israeli enemy. We have to defend and protect this dear land since we cannot be guardians of the border for the treacherous enemy. Through this mission, we are empowered with a firm unyielding will, enforced with the support of the state institutions, on top of the list is His Excellency, the President of the Republic as well as the Lebanese people which has never given up its right to resist the Israeli occupation and support the army.
In this frame, we confirm our full commitment to Resolution 1701 and all its stipulations as well as our ultimate cooperation with the UNIFIL in order to preserve the stability of the Southern border.
From this platform which symbolizes martyrdom and victory, I confirm to you today that the army shall have the same response in the future to whomever will attempt to sabotage our security and national sovereignty or target national peace and the will of coexistence.
The army will be impartial to all confessions and parties of the community during all constitutional contests and will be fully prepared to defend our dear nation. The support which you have offered us, your Excellency the President, has enrooted this foundation!
I offer to you my most sincere condolences and feelings of sympathy and solidarity, dear parents. Be certain that our sympathy with you and our pride in you are as immense as your patience and as the sacrifices of your sons. You have set an example for the citizens of this land and your sons are the great heroes of the institution of Honor, Sacrifice and Loyalty!
May Our Brave Martyrs Rest in Peace
And May Lebanon Hold Everlasting Glory and Dignity
Long Live the Army – Long Live Lebanon
Speech of the Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun at the ceremony held in honor of the military units that participated in the “Dawn of the Jurds” operation at Riyaq Air base on 16/9/2017
Esteemed Commanders of security units
Esteemed Commander of the UNIFIL, General Michael Beary
Esteemed Military Attachés
Esteemed families of martyrs
Esteemed Commanders of the units
Officers, NCOs and soldiers – Esteemed audience
We celebrate together on this day the end of “Dawn of the Jurds” operation that resulted in your conclusive victory over terrorism. This dangerous enemy has crouched heavily over our eastern border where it seized the land and intimidated the citizens. However, thanks to your resolve, courage and unlimited combat will and thanks to the blood of your seven martyr comrades and the blood of your courageous comrades who were wounded during the battle, we have gained victory over terrorism by driving it away once and for all so that this land may return to its owners and under the wing of national sovereignty where the flag of your country flutters over the high peaks safeguarded by an army that gained the trust of all the sides that bet on its role and has proven to be worthy of the trust.
Hero troops,
This battle which you have fought with a firm resolve and a clear vision was, at the operational level and with the judgment of leaders of friend countries, experts and military, local and international analysts, more than successful in terms of all criteria and military principles: its swift end during a few days, the combat professionalism of the troops, the coordination and integration between different army units, whether land units, air units, logistic or administrative units, or the complete commitment to the International Humanitarian Law. Eventually, you have achieved the main goals of the battle: Liberating the land from terrorism and revealing the fate of the soldiers kidnapped by the criminal terrorist groups, as their pure bodies were returned to their families and villages and they were highly honored at the level of the army and the nation.
Therefore, I congratulate you for this historic accomplishment as I congratulate the army, which you have decorated with the medals of pride, dignity and bravery.
Hero troops,
You have prevailed and through you, the army and the nation have triumphed and your institution has become the core of the country, just as the cedar symbolizes the core of the flag. This fact was embodied when the Lebanese, regardless of their confessional and regional differences, rushed during and after the battle to surround you with an unprecedented overwhelming national unity and the nation’s squares were crowded with supporters who were rushing to honor you and express their pride in you.
You have prevailed and through you, the state has triumphed, for it has become more immune in the face of the regional and internal challenges and more capable of pushing forward the economic and developmental reform in the country.
Nevertheless, a lot of efforts and work remain ahead of us. Therefore, the jubilation of victory shall never deter us from continuing the preemptive war against terrorism with its dormant cells and lone wolves. Furthermore, it shall never prevent us from proceeding with the journey of security and stability inside the country and tracking down everyone who targets the security of Lebanon and the army. The series of arrests has begun and everyone who is proven to have attacked citizens and army posts during the previous period will be arrested and that is a vow that we have made and we will follow through.
Be certain that there will be no safe haven inside the country for saboteurs and random shooters, for the safety of the citizens is a responsibility that we will maintain regardless of the sacrifices. Moreover, there will be no safe refuge for saboteurs who tamper with social security and the future of the Lebanese youth such as narcotics traffickers and drug dealers, no matter how important they falsely believed they were. Just as we were firm and strict in facing terrorism, this will be our attitude in facing these saboteurs.
In parallel with all these missions, you have to double your preparedness in facing the State Terrorism practiced by the Israeli enemy, lurking at the borders of our beloved South and continuously making threats against Lebanon with its hostile acts that constitute a clear breach of resolution 1701. However, this shall not terrorize us and shall not prevent us from performing our sacred duty, in view of the fact that after the end of the “Dawn of the Jurds” operation, we have boosted the deployment of the army at the southern border in order to defend it. These facts come in parallel with our complete commitment to the mentioned resolution with all its stipulations and to our ultimate devotion to the cooperation and coordination with the UNIFIL in order to boost the security of the borders and reinforce the resistance of the villagers as well as to face any attempt made by the enemy to destabilize the region.
Brave troops,
Your comrades who were kidnapped by terrorism and martyred between its claws symbolize ultimate pride, for they have lived in the heart of the nation’s conscience and they have enlightened with their names the symbol of immortality. They were the bright beacon of the “Dawn of the Jurds” operation.
Your 7 martyr comrades and all the heroes who were injured during the battle symbolize pride as well, for they have merged their pure blood with the sole of the nation and they have carried the banner of victory and fueled the blazing fire of liberation.
Officers, NCOs and soldiers, you symbolize pride in your turn, for you have been potential martyrs in the battlefield. However, you have fought courageously at the margin between victory and martyrdom and you have never feared danger for one second, nor have you hesitated.
The pride goes to all the Lebanese, regardless of their affiliations, confessions and regions, for we are soldiers from their villages, houses and loyal patriotic families.
I extend my appreciation and gratitude to the committees, institutions and individuals in civil society that have offered financial and material aid to military units during and after the battle, for being a symbol of national fusion between the army and the citizens.
I extend my appreciation and gratitude as well to the International Community and the friend countries for their military and moral support that they provided to the army, thus efficiently contributing to providing the essentials necessary for the good conduct of the battle.
In the end, I extend my salutes with reverence and respect to all the souls of the brave martyrs of the institution. To you, army heroes, I say: we shall not fear for a nation in which you are the brave guardians and the sturdy fence of its borders.
Long Live the Army – Long Live Lebanon
