THE 4th anniversary of the liberation of Southern Lebanon and Western Bekaa, through the struggle and resistance of its people against the Israeli occupiers, was commemorated in Cuba. However, there are still some areas that remain under Israeli control.

Tony Badawi, extraordinary and plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon in Cuba, offered a press conference during which, in addition to referring to that historic event, he reiterated his country’s support for the Cuban Revolution and rejected measures to further intensify the blockade.

"It was the first time in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict that the Zionist forces of occupation were obliged to unconditionally withdraw from an occupied territory...after the people’s heroic resistance," the ambassador affirmed.

He recalled that Lebanon is today reaffirming its disposition to continue respecting its commitment to the so-called "blue line" (its national borders), while at the same time demanding that Israel withdraw its troops from Arab lands.

Badawi reiterated the legal and moral right of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to return to their homeland.

The occupation of Iraq and the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians are endangering the normal functioning of the countries in the region and other parts of the world, he affirmed.

Israel should withdraw to its 1967 borders and Jerusalem should be the capital of Palestine; that is the only way to reach peace in the Middle East.

Lebanon demands that its prisoners be freed, that the whereabouts of its disappeared be made known, that the bodies be returned, as well as access to maps in Israeli possession of mines laid in various villages, which currently represent a mortal danger to many people in Lebanon, and which have caused the death of women and children, Badawi stated.

The diplomat added that the Chebaa farmland, still in Israeli possession, should be returned to his country.

Political relations between his country and Cuba are excellent, he noted, although more joint work needs to be done to extend and diversify trade relations.