NNA - After the meeting of the Political Bureau, Leader of the Free Patriotic Movement MP. Gebran Bassil started by expressing his condolences to the family of the assassinated,coordinator of the Lebanese Forces in Jbeil, Pascal Sleiman, as well as to the Lebanese Forces and all other Lebanese people. He also expressed his appreciation to Pascal’s widow for her words that reflect her true faith as a Christian and her high sense of patriotism as Lebanese, and to his brother for calling him following the accident, seeking his help as a loving brother.
According to Bassil, everyone worked all Sunday night and Monday morning, trying to save Pascal. “It is our duty”, he said. Bassil also stressed that the country should be spared of any internal sedition. He followed up with the competent authorities that were very keen to disclose all investigation results responsibly and transparently. “His family, political party, and people have the right to know the truth, motives, and causes behind this crime. Everyone has the right to be suspicious of whether the motives were political or not.They have the right not to believe that it was just a coincidental car theft incident, even though that’s what has been found to date. Accordingly, the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Lebanese Judiciary are responsible of exposing and punishing the perpetrators of this crime. The Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces are also responsible of preserving security within the country and preventing any sedition.”
Bassil confirmed that what had happened was a horrific crime, hence lessons must be drawn thereof:
First: We feel significant pain whenever a citizen is kidnapped, and his life or freedom is threatened. However, abiding by the State's authorities, institutions, judiciary, and justice, is our only remaining hope, so that generations that have not lived war acknowledge that deliberately undermining the State by external - internal – schemes has led and is still leading to wars that wipe out hundreds of thousands of people. This should be stopped. Whoever does not want to learn the lesson is either an amateur or seeks tobenefit from sedition and incitementand wants to makeindiscriminate accusations.
Second: We should not resort to self-security as long as official security bodies, starting with the army, continue to carry out their duties and are able to protect and reassure us. Self-security does not only mean the return of militias, but also the spread of gangs in every city, town, and street. Self-security means security violations that will affect every Lebanese citizen who wishes for a State, legitimacy, and a public law rather than customary laws.
Third: This horrific crime, despite its motives that might have been shown to be related to theft, is the outcome of a plot founded by nations and foreign States, with the complicity of internal entities, that aims at keeping more than two million displaced Syrians in Lebanon. This imposes existential risks on Lebanon, including security risks, similar to what happened to Pascal and others.
Bassil warned that the security risk of displacement did not mean taking moral or physical revenge from displaced Syrians, explaining that it would lead to a considerable sedition in Lebanon between Lebanese and Syrians. It would also sabotage our relationship with our neighboring and friendly country with which we could build a bright future, alongside our relationships as Lebanese with Syrian workers who fill many of our needs at work and with whom we build good and brotherly relations. The solution is to pressure and work towards bringing Syrians back to their country, through actions, not just words.
In this regard, Bassil mentioned thousands of conferences, recommendations, laws, and resolutions submitted by the FPM, that would legitimately, legally, and rightfully secure the dignified, safe, and speedy return of Syrians to their country, instead of allowing them to enter Lebanon by opening land borders, preventing them to leave it by closing maritime borders, and receiving those coming from Europe.
He also mentioned the numerous reports submitted by the Cabinet, Parliament, and ministerial committees, as well as the meetings held abroad and the press conferences in which the FPM had submitted actual action projects to prevent the entry of displaced Syrians and secure their return.
In addition, he brought up the racist accusations against the FPM and the petitions signed by deputies, politicians, journalists, and revolutionists against him in this regard, alongside the famous chant that had resonated within the revolution: Syrians in, Bassil out.
Bassil also evoked the FPM’s disgareement with most of Lebanon’s political parties who publicly attacked him in the media and defended Syrians' entry and stay in Lebanon.
Bassil considered Pascal Sleiman's murder a lesson to who ever defended the entry of Syrians without any restrictions or conditions, whoever signed a petition against him and the FPM, and whoever said anything in this regard. He emphasized that everything was archived, saved in videos, and available on social media, so escaping the truth and repudiating it was useless. He forgave those who had insulted him, “Insults fade before Pascal’s death, but who will compensate the Lebanese people for this disaster that hasn’t been avoided since 2011?” he asked.
Bassil affirmed the FPM’s refusal of any intimidating messages and seditious calls for revenge, stressing on the words of Pascal’s widow. He warned of any plot that might start a war desired by Lebanon’s enemies. In response to the crime, the FPM calls upon the State and security and judicial bodies to assume their responsibilities in protecting us. “As Lebanese citizens, we have the right to live a safe and decent life in accordance with the State and its laws.” That could be achievableacross municipalities. In fact, the FPM has held conferences and has contacted all parties,on regional and national levels,calling for the exit of Syrian offenders from towns, as per the law, not through violence.
This is what serious work looks like. Anything else is a great danger to Lebanon and a pointless political investment.
According to Bassil, the FPM is fighting to reform and strengthen the State, not to sabotage it. Christians are asking for a strong State that would protect them. Every Lebanese citizen should live lawfully under the State. Everybody must learn their lesson, yet nobody is entitled to teach any lesson to anybody.
“Hate speech, incitement, and sectarian extremism are unacceptable, for they threaten civil peace and lead the country to a sedition that eliminates the State and starts a war we refuse to get dragged into," he added.
Bassil stressed that the FPM was striving yet arguing with many, notably Hezbollah, in terms of protecting Lebanon from foreign wars. Therefore, how could the FPM not fight to prevent any sedition in the country?
“We are striving to protect ourselves from foreign wars and internal seditions. Either way, nobody should be wronged," he said.
Bassil then talked about exerting more effort to prevent Israel from waging war. As leader of the FPM, he sent letters on war prevention, in order to avoid any harm or damage to Lebanese people and to protect them from despair, suffering, and poverty. In fact, the FPM has sent letters to the ambassadors of the 15 Members States of the Security Council (5 permanent and 10 elected), as well as to the UNIFIL’s main States, the Quintet’s States (precisely Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Egypt), Vatican City, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Bou Habib, through which he demanded a ceasefire in Southern Lebanon, independently of the situation in Gaza, even if it meant issuing an international resolution on this matter that would be binding on both Israel and Lebanon. Said resolution would eventuallybe based on the implementation of Resolution 1701, wouldn’t contradict nor revoke it, but would demand its implementation and uphold Lebanon's sovereignty and borders, in accordance with the 1949 Armistice Convention. Said resolution would also call for a ceasefire, similarly to the 25 March 2024 resolution on Gaza ceasefire, to which Israel did not adhere. Israel might as well not adhere to this resolution, but what’s important is to prove that Israel is the aggressor, the usurper, the assassin, Lebanon’s destroyer, and the violator of international legitimacy.
To prevent any interpretation, Bassil recalled the following:
First: The only goal is to prevent the expansion of the warto Lebanon. This is what many Lebanese, including the resistance, Hezbollah and Lebanon’s friendly countries, agree upon.However, Israel wants to drag Lebanon into a war that suits its desires and abilities, henceharmingthe country. Everyone knows that Israel does not need an excuse to attack Lebanon, but everyone is invited to confront its excuses.
Second: The FPM refuses the expansion of the war to Lebanon, but Lebanese people havethe sacred right to defend themselves if Israel attacks Lebanon and wages war on us. At this point, supporting the resistance becomes a national duty. Therefore, no one should try to make profit of the disagreement between the FPM and Hezbollah on the unity of fields and the usefulness and implications of Lebanon's involvement in this war. “This disagreement does not mean that our hearts do not break for the death of every martyr and for the total or partial destruction of houses. Our position only reflects our concern foreachelement of strength in Lebanon and our determination to maintain the strength-and-deterrence equation that has protected Lebanon since 2006 but has been degrading in favor of the enemy. Our position also affirms that our internal front will not be as weak as the Israeli enemy wishes for it to be when it wages war on us. However, it will become weak if we waste our internal strength onundermining the State, institutions, partnership, and national unity”, he said.
Third: “We support Palestinians in their resistance and in their quest for their own State. We should preserve our State and reform the power therein, starting with the speedy election of a President of the Republic. In the absence of a President, society, security, and safety are destabilized. Yesterday’s incident is a perfect example. In the absence of a President and with the lack of solidarity, aStateloses its ability to confront a fierce enemy that wants to eliminate its model which is the opposite of his."
Finally, Bassil stressed that the FPM is only demanding the implementation of Resolution1701 through a new international resolution that underlines it. According to Bassil, we have the right to demand a ceasefire, which neither weakens Lebanon nor the resistance, but prevents their retreat. “Those who wanted to advise us and called us a friend, are indeed friends.Wemust assess the outcome of the war and we mustof course, as always, hold talks. However, if only those talks were held with the stakeholders. We want to protect and strengthen Lebanon, not weaken it. We do not hold a neutral position between right and wrong. Israel is wrong and we are right, but we feel as if we are divided, so we must address this matter rather than turn a blind eye thereto. Others are cheering and feeding on division and are waiting for war. However, we refuse any internal disruption and will confront it”, he added.
"Isn’t time to elect a patriotic, resistant, and reformist President? Isn’t time to implement a plan for the departure and return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon?” he concluded.
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