The head of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, visited Baabda Palace, where he met with the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun. After the meeting, he made a statement in which he addressed the current developments and the path to establishing a state in Lebanon, in addition to files related to the south and reconstruction.
Geagea said: “In the end, when a person is in a calamity, he is forced to do everything he can to get out of it. They have put us in a very difficult situation, and there does not seem to be a clear way out of it. Even those who were monitoring the American-Iranian path have seen at the present time, and especially during the past two or three days, where this path has reached and what happened in it. Therefore, no Lebanese can remain in the unknown.”
Geagea pointed out, “There is a very basic point that we also emphasized with His Excellency the President, which is that we will not be able to do anything if there is no actual state in Lebanon.”
He stressed that “the establishment of an effective state requires that there remain one army, that all military and security decisions be in the hands of the state, and that there be one decision-maker within the state,” considering that “before achieving this, we will not be able to do anything.”
He continued: “Those who talk about the necessity of getting out of the south faster, yes we must get out of the south faster, and we want reconstruction, yes we must do reconstruction, we want and we want and we want, but none of that can happen before the state returns to being a real state.”
Geagea pointed out that “since President Joseph Aoun came to the presidency, and since the formation of the new government, several steps have taken place towards the actual state, and the most important thing is that we complete these steps until the end,” considering that “all the other theories that we hear daily, and all of these unrealistic actions, are out of place.”
He added: “On this occasion, I want to mention a very key point, which is that some either do not know or say that on purpose,” explaining that “Lebanon, among the countries of the region, is perhaps the only country in which the authority enjoys actual legitimacy, and today we have a parliament that includes 128 representatives, who were effectively and truly elected by the Lebanese people.”
He pointed out that “the 2022 elections took place in very difficult circumstances, and every Lebanese went to express their opinion, and this resulted in the current parliament.”
He stressed that “this parliament elected Joseph Aoun as President of the Republic with 100 votes out of 128 votes, then returned and granted confidence twice to the government of President Nawaf Salam, with a majority of approximately two-thirds of the parliament.”
Geagea continued: “So who is the state today in Lebanon? Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese government, and the Parliament, and this is the state because it represents the Lebanese people.”
He stressed that “the decisions issued by these institutions are supposed to be adhered to by everyone, and any person can have another opinion, and this is his right, but within the framework of the other opinion. As for any other departure from the political framework of the state, it is absolutely unacceptable.”
He saw that “today in Lebanon, the state is headed by the presidency of the republic, the government, and the authority of the Parliament, because it represents the Lebanese people, and they must carry out their duties and bear their responsibilities, and this is what they do. All other theories are not valid on this site, and it is said that this matter is Christian or non-Christian, but the use of these concepts, frankly, is inappropriate. We all respect our sanctities, and Christianity is embodied in Lebanon through the formation of the Parliament and the formation of the government.”
Geagea stressed that “the most important thing is that we do not return in every issue to hitting every Lebanese individually and asking him what he wants to do, otherwise the state will not exist.”
In response to a question, he said: “Neither Hezbollah, nor the Lebanese Forces Party, nor the Phalange Party, nor the Green Party, nor any other party say at the present time that there is no Lebanese state. I am still explaining the structure of the state. There is a Lebanese state represented by the President of the Republic and the Lebanese government, and this state says: Yes, we have an Israeli problem in the south, and it is the one that decides what it wants to do.”
He continued: “It is not Hezbollah that decides what it wants to do or determines its options in this regard. None of us decides anything today except in its own matters. As for the homeland, the state, and destiny, there is a Lebanese state.”
Geagea pointed out, “If no one likes the current state or does not want to deal with it, there is a very simple solution. Sometimes some call for early elections, and sometimes they talk about that, and at the same time the mandate of the Parliament is extended. Well, we stop the extension and go to elections, and see who represents the Lebanese people, if there is someone who considers that this state does not represent the people, but until that time, the current state represents the Lebanese people, and it is the one that decides what it will do regarding the issue of the Israeli presence in southern Lebanon.”
Geagea continued: “Hezbollah is present in the Parliament, and secondly, it is present in the government, and the President of the Republic cannot be one person acting alone, and therefore, somewhere, through the Parliament, there is the President of the Republic, and this is the reality. Each one must bear his responsibilities. The President of the Republic has not exceeded his powers one iota, nor has he exceeded them, and therefore it is not permissible to hold him responsible for matters he did not undertake. However, if Hezbollah is dissatisfied with this path, this is its natural right. But he should not raise matters that should not be raised. If he considers that the authority no longer represents the Lebanese people, then let him go to early elections, and we will go to elections and see.”
In response to a question about whether he had a message to Hezbollah or to President Nabih Berri, Geagea said: “The main message is to Shiite citizens. Sometimes, through the propaganda carried out by Hezbollah, Shiite citizens in Lebanon may feel as if they are being targeted, and this is not true. Shiite citizens in Lebanon, like Sunni, Christian and other citizens, are authentic Lebanese, and therefore they are certainly not targeted, and no one wants anything from them, but what is required is that they exercise their role, and most of them can preserve The rights of the Shiites in Lebanon are the state. From the days of President Fouad Chehab until today, the one who cares most about the Shiites in Lebanon is the state.”
Regarding the President of the Republic’s visit to Washington, Geagea said that he conveyed proposals and wishes to President Aoun, explaining: “We are continuing on the path that began with the framework agreement, for a simple reason, which is that I go back and say that none of us are “in love” with this agreement, and no one sees it as ideal or the final solution, but at the present time we have no other solution.”
Geagea considered that “Islamabad’s path is linked to American interests and Iranian interests, and has nothing to do with Lebanese interests. It is true that it included Lebanon, but in reality it can be said that Iran is trying to maintain its influence in Lebanon. As long as Iran maintains its influence in Lebanon, we will remain in the vortex that we have been in for forty years until today. When Iran talks about Lebanon, it is trying to maintain its influence in Lebanon, and not seeking the interest of the Lebanese people.”
He continued: “The only one who seeks the interest of the Lebanese people is the Lebanese state, the Lebanese government, and the Lebanese president, who seeks the interest of the Lebanese people, but it cannot be said that when Iran negotiates on certain matters for the sake of Lebanon on Islamabad’s path, it is negotiating for the sake of the Lebanese interest. This is not true. It is negotiating for the interest of Iran, and this is normal, but we must understand that and know how to achieve our interests.”
In response to a question about whether he had asked President Aoun to proceed with implementing the framework agreement, Geagea explained, “President Aoun has every intention to complete the latest framework agreement and implement it. He knows, and we know, that the matter is not easy. We are dealing with parties starting from Israel all the way to the United States, and this is not a simple matter, but I confirm that in practice, we have at the present time only this path.”
Geagea concluded: “We must all rally around President Aoun and the Lebanese government, in order to give them more strength, so that they can negotiate as they should negotiate, and not as is happening today, where some sit and block the road and accuse and make accusations daily, while they do not take any step in the interest of Lebanon, even though they accuse others of having led Lebanon to this path.”
