The leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Camille Dory Chamoun. (Credit: Facebook.)
BEIRUT - During a podcast from the local channel al-Jadeed, MP Camille Chamoun, president of the National Liberal Party (NLP), answered questions about the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), which started 50 years ago, revealing his personal role and the role of his party during this conflict. The NLP, like many so-called Christian parties of the time, was engaged in fighting against Palestinian militias and then against the Syrian army.
When asked about the provision of weapons by Israel to the NLP and other parties during the war, Chamoun clarified that "these weapons were bought and not provided for free, they were all paid for." He justified this by stating they were "cheaper" at the time. The deputy denied that they were sophisticated weapons, claiming they were just to "allow us to hold on." In the conversation, the deputy considered that his party had "far fewer resources than the Palestinian factions at the time." Chamoun emphasized that "at the beginning of the war, we bought weapons locally, sometimes even from some Palestinians who had them in stock." "Later, following the division of the army, we took advantage of the weapons in certain barracks in our regions, as others did in other regions," he said.
Chamoun also denied ever setting foot in Israel or undergoing military training in this country, which is at war with Lebanon. Asked about normalization with Israel, the deputy stated that the priority would be to be at peace with the southern neighboring country because the cost of the war is borne by Lebanon and not by Israel. Normalization would be possible "under certain conditions and if all other Arab countries are engaged," he added.
When asked by his interlocutor to comment on accusations by other Lebanese about "war crimes committed against Palestinians, similar to the Kataeb and Lebanese Forces [the other Christian parties]," Chamoun stated that "it is an honor to defend one's country, it is the fights of other powers that should be considered a shame." He seemed to be referring to Hezbollah, whom his detractors, like Chamoun himself, accuse of being at Iran's behest and dragging Lebanon into conflicts with Israel at Tehran's request.
The deputy also praised "this spirit of resistance" which has preserved "the Lebanese identity" even in the face of Iranian influence in recent years. "This spirit of resistance has paved the way today for this global interest in Lebanon to lift it out of the crisis it is struggling in," he emphasized.
