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JEAN AZIZ
and TAËF
Speaking at NDU at the invitation of the Debate Club on Friday, February 28,
after being presented by the Director of Public Relations Mr. Suheil Matar, the
Lebanese Forces representative Mr. Jean (John) Aziz pleaded in front of a large
crowd of deans, professors, staff and students for the application of the Taëf
Agreement and for a common life bringing together the Christian and Muslim
communities in Lebanon. Speaking on The National Pact after the Events of September
11, he defined the Pact as the will of Lebanese to live in common.
Mr. Aziz saw the present international system as one where the USA sought to
extend its power while at the same time there was the phenomenon of Islamic fundamentalism
operating outside the framework of national states. Faced with the
latter, the United States was trying to put Muslims in power in non-Arab Muslim
states and minorities to the detriment of the majority in Arab Muslim countries in
order to provoke an implosion within them through inter-ethnic conflicts. For the
Lebanese it was important to live together in a new state structure where there was
neither majority nor minority.
The speaker concluded with the need to apply the Taëf Agreement as a whole for
Lebanon to be a “message” of pluralism and freedom as expressed by the Pope and
for the country to be spared new conflicts.
NDU INSTRUCTOR CHEVALIER
Mr. Elie Marmary is a personality to whom Lebanese wines owe much
of their new worldwide reputation and popularity and since 1999 NDU students
of Hotel Management and Tourism have been thoroughly enjoying his HTM
443 course of Alcoholic Beverages Appreciation and Bar Management. Since
February 20th last, he has enjoyed the high distinction of having been made
Chevalier de l’Ordre du mérite agricole by the French government. He received the
insignia from the French Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in person during
the International Wine-Tasting Convention held in the Hall of Holiday Inn,
place de la République, Paris.
After his education at the de la Salle College in Beirut and obtaining a
degree in Commercial Science, Mr. Marmary studied wine techniques at
Toulouse in France, where he was awarded the Diplôme national d’œnologie.
From 1983 to 1994 he was in charge of wine production at Ksara and since then
has been active in blending (coupage) and export, as well as being a respected
member of international wine-tasting juries. Congratulations!
Mea culpa
We apologise for having mentioned Dr. Walid Assaf as Chairperson of Civil
Engineering in our article about the Litani River Prize in our last issue. Dr.
Assaf is of course Chairperson of Mechanical Engineering. –Ed.
34 NNU SPIRIT