Victoria, Australia

The United Australian Lebanese Movement (UALM) held its annual dinner party function last night in Melbourne at Our Lady of Lebanon Church Hall. The function was held to celebrate the occasion of the return of General Michel Aoun to Lebanon from exile on 7th of May 2005 and to express solidarity with the Lebanese Army and its Special Forces.

The function was very successful and was enjoyed by all those who were present at it. The function was attended by representatives of numerous Lebanese political parties, state and federal politicians, Australian Lebanese associations and cultural groups and the Lebanese Conciliate in addition to hundreds of supporters and members of the UALM.

The night was kicked off by MCs Mr Salem Haddad and Mrs Hiba Francis with a minute silence in commemoration of the martyrs of the Lebanese Army who have lost their lives defending Lebanon’s sovereignty and protecting its people from the Takfiri terrorists. The commemoration was followed by the Australian and Lebanese National Anthems.

The guest MPs Mr Abbas Hashem and Dr Nabil Nicolas who were invited to represent General Michel Aoun at the function were not able to attend due to significant developments in Lebanon. They offered there sincere apologies for not being able to attend to the guests and organisers of the function and promised that once the situation in Lebanon improved that they would be keen to come to Australia.

General Michel Aoun in a live televised appearance spoke about the difficulties confronting Lebanon and the Levant and the need for unity among its people to confront the takfiri terrorists and their backers. General Aoun acknowledged the sacrifices of the Lebanese army in defending Lebanon from takfiri terrorists and called on all Lebanese people and political parties to stand united behind the Lebanese Army.

The UALM Federal Secretary Mr Nouhad Chahda and Mr Maroun Khoury, on behalf of the Victorian President Bachar Haikal, offered their condolences to the families of the martyrs of the Lebanese Army and voiced their support to the FPM and its leader General Michel Aoun for standing with the people in these difficult times.

Mr Antoine Barsouna, who has become famous in Victoria for his classical Lebanese zajal, entertained the guests once again with an outstanding zajal performance. His performance was followed by live classical and modern Arabic music which got the attendees up on the dance floor.

The UALM thanks all the guests and supporters who attended the function and looks forward to the next event which will bring us together.

The United Australian Lebanese Movement, Victoria Branch

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