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The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, urged the Judiciary to continue with the investigation of the crime of bombing the port until its completion, criticizing the efforts of the parties to create a political and sectarian climate in order to abort the investigation and keep those responsible from being held accountable.
In an interview with L’Orient-Le Jour, Bassil expressed his conviction that there is some kind of arbitrariness and discretion in the recent judicial allegations issued by Judge Fadi Sawan, noting that in his letter to the House of Representatives he expressed his intention to prosecute to successive heads of government and ministers of works, finance and justice, and this is not correct. It is not valid, since it is illogical that all the accused are equally responsible. Furthermore, Judge Fadi Sawan speaks in this context of incompetence and administrative negligence in the exercise of responsibility, alien to the crime of responsibility for the attack. I do not understand, in this context, how the prime minister, the ministers and a group of people are held responsible for what happened, while they are not directly and executive responsible.
And he emphasized that it is against the absolute damage to the position of the prime minister, but defending the sanctuary is not a sectarian mobilization, because a similar army, I am afraid, is an introduction to prevent the judiciary from opening corruption files.
He said that the true defense of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance is in determining the responsibilities, knowing that I am sure that there is no responsibility for President Hassan Diab, and the same applies to the accused ministers and Customs, noting that the audit in some respects shows that there are customs officials. Their names are surprisingly excluded from court. There are also questions about the prosecutions of the only security apparatus, which warned with documents and reports of the potential disaster before it happened.
Regarding his position on the possibility of the judicial investigator hearing the testimony of the President of the Republic, Bassil said: There are legal procedures and principles for this, but according to my knowledge of the president, if I had something to add to his statement issued , would initiate contact with the judicial investigator and ask him to hear his testimony.
He denied the talk about his request to block the third (7 ministers), indicating that the Free Patriotic Movement has not decided to date whether or not to participate in the government, or even support it. He said: We do not ask for the blocking third party or any ministry. Most of what we want is to form a government based on clear rules. And he added: Whoever does not want to form a government is the one who does not accept these rules and insists on overcoming constitutional principles and breaking political balances, appointing all ministers and taking steps back each time we take a step forward.
He pointed out that the government is a building, since it is not allowed to put the roof before the foundation. The names cannot be discarded before determining the form of government and distributing the bags. And when we say that we do not want to participate, we are accused of obstruction, while they ask for the erasure of the constitution and the crushing of the Lebanese and parliamentary blocs under the pretext of facilitating authorship. He said: They are asking for a government of specialists, so be it. But according to any specialized criteria, a minister for the foreign and agricultural portfolios and a minister for social affairs and environment, and how does the prime minister appoint all the ministers? He stressed that the Taif Agreement is clear on the issue of partnership in the formation of a government between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. Likewise, in accordance with this agreement, the designated president shall conduct representative consultations. Although it is not binding, its objective is to obtain the support of the parliamentary blocs.
He stressed that it is in the interest of Lebanon and the President of the Republic, and it is in our interest that the government be formed as soon as possible, asking: How can you think for a moment that we do not want a government? And he said: In any case, we are not the ones who fear sanctions, since they were imposed on us before.
He stressed that the French initiative did not end with the evidence of President Emmanuel Macron’s visit. But I am saddened to see him more concerned for Lebanon than for the Lebanese themselves.
Sanctions and injustice: He stressed that his political positions are not related to the sanctions that affected him, and are completely independent of them. He added: What worries me about what happened is the injustice that was caused as a result of the corruption charge. Days will show that it is a false accusation, and I will do whatever it takes to prove it.
Regarding his relationship with the President of the Republic, Bassil said: I do not hide my closeness to him and his political paternity towards me. But the son is the one who listens to his father and not the other way around.
He claimed that the understanding with Hezbollah protected Lebanon, noting that the Lebanese depend on this understanding to build the state, because they believed that an understanding between two main parties, Christian and Muslim, would lead to state building. But we did not succeed, and the Lebanese ask us about this matter, and it is their right, knowing that building the state is a priority that equates us to the priority of resistance against Hezbollah.
He noted that we are working to reconsider a number of aspects of understanding, but I prefer not to address them at this point, because the results will speak for themselves if we succeed. Certainly, we cannot continue with the current situation, that is, give the masses of the movement and the party, and the Lebanese in general, less than they expect and expect.
He denied that his position on the understanding with the party was ambiguous or to flatter the Americans, and asked: if that was the case, they would not have imposed sanctions on me. And they realized that I didn’t give in to the pressure. I’d rather finish a thousand times than give in to pressure.
And about some who said it ended politically, he replied: I end when they bury me.
On the Maarab agreement, he said: Our goal of the agreement was to lay a unified foundation for the state of the Christians in power and the state, beginning with the presidency. The first meaning was General Aoun. Samir Geagea agreed to vote for General Aoun, but did not want to lay the groundwork for Christian participation in government. He preferred that in exchange for his vote for General Aoun, he would get a share of power. This is your right. But that is not what we prefer. He then fell back after that, when he put aside his spiritual understanding. We wanted us to be one in power and cooperate together, while he wanted to be an opponent and at the same time get his share. This is what caused the deal to fail.
Regarding his accusation of waging war against President Nabih Berri and cornering Hezbollah, he said: I am not waging any war against President Berri. On the contrary, I aspire to a stable relationship with him, because of his position and what he represents at the popular level. But there are people whose only job is to provoke conflicts and incite us against each other. Unfortunately, they are often successful in their mission. In any case, no sane person could wish to provoke a conflict with spokesman Berri.
Regarding his relationship with Prime Minister Hariri, he said: It is a relationship of love and revenge. Love from me and revenge from you.
Regarding the systematic campaign that affects him, he said: It is natural for anyone who feels like a source of political threat to attack me. I don’t think anyone can argue that I am the target of a campaign aimed at my political destruction. In any case, this campaign culminated in sanctions against me.
And on the possibility of leaving him to lead the movement, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, said: I will leave if I lose the majority in the next elections.
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