Lebanese ‘will fight for land’

Press, 25 November 1982, Page 11

Lebanese ‘will fight for land’

The Lebanese people had offered 100,000 lives to save their war-torn country, which they would not . leave to become new refugees, said Mr Raymond Heneine, the Lebanese Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand. Mr Heneine, in Christchurch as part of a 10-day New Zealand visit before returning to his base in Canberra, said that the Lebanese people would stay to the end and fight for their own land. They were acting courageously. “The Lebanese people never fight, but when it is necessary to defend their homes and families, each person has the right to defend himself,” he said. Mr Heneine visited

Lebanon about two months ago, and found the bombing “terrible." . About one million Lebanese were refugees because villages, cities, and towns had been occupied or demolished.

Lebanon hoped to liberate all its territory from the occupied forces, mercen-, aries, and foreigners who were there illegally, he said. Mr Heneine said that Lebanon sought moral and political help from all countries which shared the same ideals. Among countries giving help were the United States, France, and Italy. Once occupied forces left Lebanon, it would be a place of trade, as the bridge between three continents.