Ex-general returns to Lebanon

By Hassan M. Fattah The New York Times

BEIRUT Michel Aoun, a former army general who inspires nationalist support in the street among many Christians and unease among some of the long-entrenched elite, has returned to this city after 15 years in exile, promising to remake Lebanon’s politics.

The return of the general, a Maronite Christian who opposed Syria’s dominance, closes the chapter on that country’s control of Lebanon and opens a new one as Lebanon faces the daunting challenges left by Syria’s withdrawal.

His arrival Saturday, just two weeks after Syrian forces left, was part victory march, part bittersweet homecoming. Posters in Christian parts of the city hailed him as a “resister” and a “liberator.”

“Today is a victory for sovereignty, and a return for a Lebanese,” Aoun said after he arrived on a flight from France.

From the airport, the general drove to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and on to the grave of a former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, before moving to Martyrs’ Square nearby, where thousands of his supporters, wearing the orange of their Free Patriotic Movement, gathered to hear his address.

“This is our march, our path,” said Bob Ghorayeb, 25, who with several friends was selling copies of Aoun’s biography at the rally. “He was a nationalist and he worked in the interest of the whole country. It’s time for a political change like that.”

Aoun’s return a key moment

By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, Beirut

For 14 years, his supporters covered Beirut’s walls with graffiti reading: “Aoun will return”.

Now Michel Aoun, a former army commander-in-chief and one time prime minister is back in Beirut after years of exile in France. Members of his party, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), worked relentlessly this week to plan a huge celebration on Martyrs’ Square, in the heart of the city.

Over the last few months, the square has seen hundreds of thousands of Lebanese demonstrate to demand the truth about the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, killed in a massive explosion on 14 February, and to ask for the departure of Syrian troops.

Anti-Syrian Leader Returns to Lebanon

By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Anti-Syrian leader Michel Aoun returned to Lebanon Saturday to the cheers of thousands of his supporters, ending his 14-year exile in France less than two weeks after Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon.

Aoun, a one-time army commander and interim Lebanese prime minister, lost a “war of liberation” against Syrian forces in 1989-90. He was sent into exile in France, but an arrest warrant against him was dropped earlier in the week, clearing the way for his return.

“Today is a day of happiness and joy,” he said at a news conference at Beirut airport. “Lebanon has been under a black cloud that enslaved it for 15 years. Today, there is a sun of freedom. I am coming to look to the future and to build Lebanon together” with the Lebanese.