Elias Azzam: “Pascal was solid in his faith
and political thought, an educator and a visionary and strategic mind who
believed in your Excellency from the first moment of the outbreak of the war in
1975 until the end”.
A ceremony convened this afternoon, at the
Presidential Palace, during which President Michel Aoun awarded the late
Professor Pascal Azzam the National Cedar Order, Commander Rank, in
appreciation of his educational, scientific and patriotic contributions, and
handed it over to his widow, Mrs. Regina Azzam.
The ceremony was attended by: Social Affairs Minister,
Hector Hajjar, MPs Nicolas Sehnaoui and Edgar Traboulsi, former ministers,
Pierre Raffoul and Mansour Bteish, son of the deceased, Elias Pascal Azzam and
his family members, relatives, family and friends.
At the beginning the Director General of Protocol and
Public Relations at the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Nabil Shedid, delivered
a speech in which he explained the reasons for awarding the medal.
Dr. Shedid said “Dear guests, we meet today at the
invitation of His Excellency, President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun,
to honor the late Professor Pascal Azzam, this man who gathered in person, many
qualities that distinguished him throughout his career, which ended on January
7, 2019, after 72 years of dedication, as an ambitious student, professor, and
role model. The Libraries of the Lebanese University, Saint Joseph University,
the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik, the University of Sagesse, and
other Lebanese educational edifices in which he planted his knowledge, culture
and experience since he graduated from Paris Dauphine University and then from
Saint Joseph University”.
“However, the other side of Pascal Azzam is the face
he loves most. He is the fighter who believed in a cause and a leader. He was
an authentic Lebanese resistance fighter who did not care about dangers. He
devoted a great period of his life to defending Lebanon’s sovereignty and
independence, inspired by the history of this country, which is rich in heroism.
Pascal Azzam believed in change and reform, the path that General Michel Aoun
launched and continued as President of the Republic, because Pascal rightly saw
in it a salvation for Lebanon and a salvation for its people, so he did not
hesitate and did not back down. Many who appreciated his gifts and imitated his
approach, always remember those difficult moments they lived with in his home,
which became a meeting place for them despite the danger that surrounded their
meetings after the occupier’s backers expelled the leader of the march to
France. The groups of militants from the “Old Guard” continued this march, until
the leader returned from exile, and Pascal was among the founders of the Free
Patriotic Movement, he continued to work silently, with sincerity and loyalty
until he lost sight of the hope of resurrection” Dr. Shedid said.
Dr. Shedid concluded “Dear audience, in honor of
Pascal Azzam, the university professor, the fighter, the resistance fighter and
the lover of the environment and man, and he who founded the “Lebanon Green
Club” association for this purpose, His Excellency the President of the
Republic, General Michel Aoun, decided to award the deceased, after his death,
the National Cedar Medal, Commander Rank, in appreciation of his sacrifices for
his country and people. The memory of Pascal Azzam will live on in the hearts
of those who knew him and those who did not know him, because someone like him
is known by his actions and by these actions he is remembered”.
Elias Azzam:
After that, the son of the deceased, Elias Pascal
Azzam, delivered the following speech:
“The family of the late Dr. Pascal Azzam and his
friends thank your Excellency for giving him the National Cedar Medal, in honor
of his struggle for which he devoted his life. He believed in your Excellency,
since the first moment of the outbreak of war in 1975, until the end, he always
described you as the first resistance fighter who carried the Lebanese cause on
his shoulders.
Pascal was solid in his faith and political thought.
He was a university educator, a visionary and strategic mind for the Lebanese
youth. This honor comes today to be a role model for the new generation in
facing life’s difficulties and challenges. It is represented by the
multiplicity of resistances that Pascal practiced and which he always
advocated: The resistance with weapons, and he was responsible for the barracks
of the liberation of Lebanon, and then a member of the organization’s
leadership council, to the educational resistance, where he was one of the
founders of the Faculty of Business Administration - the second branch at the
Lebanese University, to the popular resistance through the “Central Office for
National Coordination” where he was a member founding it, leading to
educational and environmental resistance through its call for “Green Lebanon”
since 1995, to political resistance among the Free Patriotic Movement of which
he was a founding member, and finally to disease resistance with determination,
humility and belief in the resurrection.
We ask God to grant your Excellency health and a long
life so that you may remain as tall as a mountain facing the difficulties and
storms that strike Lebanon.
We thank you”.
The celebration concluded with a word by President
Aoun, in which he expressed his appreciation for the late Pascal Azzam in the
various fields in which he emerged as a humanitarian, educational, and
militant, in defense of Lebanon, in addition to his distinguished personality,
which was characterized by kindness, humility and kindness until he became a
model.
At the end of
the ceremony, a souvenir photo was taken.