The “Tayyar” party was born from the popular legacy set by General Michel Aoun during the last phase of the “Lebanese War”. On September 23^rd of 1988, President Amin Gemayel appointed General Aoun, then commander of the Lebanese Army, as interim prime minister to form a temporary government responsible for creating circumstances allowing for the free election of a Lebanese President. At the time, pressure from foreign governments and local faction did not permit for the democratic election process to take place leading to a suitable successor to Gemayel through the parliamentary elections. What followed was a period of great strife that pitted the legitimate and constitutional government of Lebanon trying to enforce its rule against foreign armies and local militias, all pushing their own private agendas on the political scene. On October 13th, 1990 the Syrian army aided by countless local militias, advanced on what was called the “Free” areas of Beirut and pushed General Aoun into exile in France. Lebanon would stay under the control of the Syrian Army until the advent of what is now dubbed as the “Cedar Revolution” of March of 2005. During the early years of the post war phase, Aoun’s supporters and believers in the movement started to organize resistance in university campuses and underground meeting places. At the core of this “resistance” movement was a network of young university students that came to age and political awareness in the post Aoun years and rejected the status quo forced on them through a mockup police state sponsored by an occupation army.

The students quickly adopted Aoun’s principals for a Free and Sovereign Lebanon with a revised constitution eliminating sectarian divisions in the structure of the government and focusing on Equality and Democracy for all Lebanese regardless of religious and socio-economic backgrounds. The premise of the sectarian nature of the Lebanese war was rejected in whole, instead the firm belief that people would coexist in peace if left to strive in a free and democratic country, shielded from foreign conspiracies and proxy wars by a strong centralized and uncorrupted government was the solution to Lebanon’s problems. Political Feudalism, Corruption, Social disparity and ethnic/religious discrimination that plagued Lebanon for centuries were to be remedied through education for all and a government that protects all of its citizens. University campuses started seeing demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience that usually resulted in an intervention from the military and intelligence apparatuses and the imprisonment and beating of those students. The oppressive methods used by the Lebanese government only strengthened the resolve of the resistance and more people joined, while Aoun’s stifled wide spread support started to be re-invigorated by heroic acts of disobedience by courageous and incredibly motivated college students.

Over the years, the movement continued growing and organizing while Aoun lived in France and while Lebanese people worldwide rejected the status quo in Lebanon. In May of 2003, the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act (H.R 1828) was introduced by California Congresswoman Barbara Boxer and President Bush signed it into law in December of that same year. This represented a milestone for the Tayyar movement as it was the culmination of the efforts of many Pro-Aoun groups in the U.S and France, such as the Lebanese American Council for Democracy and Council of Lebanese American Organizations. Aoun was invited to testify before Congress and laid out his vision for a Free Lebanon without Syrian or Israeli Armies occupying its soil and without local and foreign militias terrorizing its citizens. The assassination of Prime Minister Rafik El Hariri in February of 2005 galvanized the International community around House Resolution 1828 pushing the Syrian Army out of Lebanon and allowing for many political prisoners to be released and for the long awaited return of General Aoun to his homeland. With millions cheering his arrival, Aoun opened his speech with his staple “Ya Sha3aba Loubnan al A3zim” (Oh great people of Lebanon), igniting an uncontrollable wave of bottled up cheers. With his return, the Tayyar officially registered as a political party alongside all the traditional parties that existed in Lebanon since the early days of the Independence.

The Tayyar movement advertises its agenda and goals openly primarily on its website (www.tayyar.org born in October of 02). Orange TV was launched earlier this month broadcasting in Lebanon and will slowly grow to be the primary media outlet for the party. Tayyar California is a local gathering of Tayyar supporters that meet regularly adopting the views and principals of the movement.