In an interview with Lebanon's LBC TV, Sahar Al-Khatib, a presenter from Lebanon's Future TV, described how Hizbullah and the Lebanese Army had shut down Future TV, and expressed her sorrow that the army had been involved in the closure. She told the leaders of the opposition that the voice of all Lebanese would not be silenced, and accused the opposition of "killing the people who build this country."

The interview aired on LBC TV on May 9, 2008.

To view the MEMRI TV clip of the interview, go to http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1765.

"Today, We Should Be Very Objective, And Say Exactly What Happened..."

Sahar Al-Khatib: "I would like to say something personal, even though I am known for being objective, and members of the opposition itself will attest to that. With regard to the conduct of the army – if only it had not intervened at all. It has been said that the army took a neutral stand, but that was not the case.

"Today, we should be very objective, and say exactly what happened. The way I see it, we were driven out of the Future TV building, when all we were doing was making our voice heard. They accept that all we were doing was broadcasting the events. We were doing nothing except making our voice heard. For many wise reasons, Allah made the human voice untouchable, so the hand cannot reach out and strangle it.

"They forced us to leave the Future TV building, while they looked on. Two hours earlier, the army was already there. I was there along with 'Imad 'Asi. The [army officers] said to us: 'Let us stay here today, otherwise they will enter the place. We will protect the premises.'

"We trusted the army to do just that. After more than two, three, or four hours – we lost track of time, because it was so stressful that time stood still for us – the officer returned, and I saw him saying to Hussein: 'Either you stop broadcasting or else they will burn the place down, or move in and wreak havoc inside.' He was delivering this message to us.

"We Had Really Thought Them [i.e. the Army] To Be Neutral... "

"I wish the army had not come. This image will remain engraved in our hearts. We had really thought them to be neutral. One can be neutral only when there is a clash between two rivals, but there wasn't any clash, and there was no need for them to stand outside. One party was the aggressor, and another was watching from the sidelines. They were both on one side, and we were on the other side. That's what I wanted to say about the army.

"Obviously, I am very emotional. Let me tell you something. I hadn't had a minute's sleep for 48 hours. I was at 'Future TV' the entire time. We were trying to broadcast news briefs that presented the pain, and at the same time, we did not want to surrender, because it was very important to deliver our message to all the people.

"The Voice [of All Lebanese] Cannot Be Strangled or Stopped; The Voice Cannot Be Reached By An Evil Hand; You Will See That This Voice Will Not Be Silenced"

"Let me say something personal to the leaders of the opposition, who were my guests and whose voices I made heard for a year and a half. For a year and a half, I have borne this with objectivity, despite all the pain, and despite all the criticism I met from many people, including my family. I have borne the pain, in order to make the voices of all Lebanese heard. Let me tell them: The voice cannot be strangled or stopped. The voice cannot be reached by an evil hand. You will see that this voice will not be silenced.

"Let me tell you something. For a year and a half I used my voice to make your voices heard. I made the voices of the people in the [Shiite] Dhahiya suburb heard, as well as in South Lebanon, in Baalbeq – the voices of the opposition, of [Aoun's] FPM, and of the Al-Marada movement. Who today will make our voices heard? I am asking who represents my own voice, after I represented your voices? My voice, the voices of the people of Beirut, the voices of the people who fled their homes, the voices of the people who said 'There is no god but Allah,' when you were wearing ski masks on the streets of Beirut. What for? People who are proud of their actions do not wear ski masks.

"I want to continue shouting that our voice will not be stopped. Let them know this. That's what objectivity is about. It means not keeping silent in the face of injustice. That's what objectivity is about. When I felt the unity of Lebanese was in danger, I courageously presented your questions. Who represents my voice now? Who represents the voice of Beirut? You tell me. Imagine yourselves in this situation. Right now, I don't want to address the political parties. I am addressing the people whose voices I made heard. Imagine that the people of Beirut, who opened their homes to you during the July [2006 Israeli] invasion... They took you into their hearts.

"We read out the names of each and every martyr on the air. In the Mar Michael area, I read out the names of the martyrs one by one, and tears from my broken heart filled my eyes on the air. Did you read out the names of our martyrs today, one by one? Answer me. Do any of you even know the names of those who fell? Who is responsible for their blood? I was objective, but I'm sad to say, you have made me regret my objectivity. I felt I was a victim of my objectivity, when I was defending you for a year and a half. Is there a conscience out there to defend us?"

"One Victim After Another – You Kill The People Who Build This Country"

"You are silencing our voice – the voice Allah made untouchable. Have you asked yourselves why? You are defying the will of Allah. Allah made only two things in the human body untouchable – the soul and the voice. This is the wisdom of Allah. Did you really think about what you are doing? You did not just break the law, but you also broke with the hearts of the people. You broke with hearts that truly loved you, even when your political leaders kept telling me that we hated you. No! Today, you abandoned people like me, and there are many like me in the Mustaqbal movement. This is the voice whose offices you came to destroy. We prepared food for you with love during the July 2006 aggression, yet you threw it on the ground.

"Why do you hate us? I don't understand. I believe in Allah but not in sectarianism, yet you have awakened sectarianism in me. Look at the victims of your actions. One victim after another – you kill the people who build this country. Your voice cannot be heard alone, nor can our voice be heard alone. In the face of injustice, our voice will be heard, and whoever hears this knows what I am talking about. We will not keep silent.

"Even though a decision was made to evacuate Future TV, I said to them: Let's stay. Let them come in. We will start the cameras rolling and stand still. Let us show the world what they are doing to us. You and we are one and the same. You have shattered this image in me. How will you fix it?"