[ad_1]
It was not surprising that the United States of America announced that it had imposed sanctions on the Lebanese representative and head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil. This scenario was possible for more than a year, when Bassil received several warnings about his administrative, political and foreign behavior, in addition to his alliance with Hezbollah.
The shares of this announcement rose after the sanctions that affected the two ministers, Ali Hassan Khalil and Youssef Fenianos, for the same reasons and data, corruption in administration and governance, and ensuring the interests of Hezbollah through the Lebanese state, and it was clear that Basil was next.
Washington was clear about its goal from the start, but what was surprising was the “injury time” moment of America’s intense presidential race. While the Lebanese awaited the identity of the next US president, to try to clarify the future of US policies toward Lebanon and the position of their political parties, the announcement of these sanctions was a clear message that the US approach to deal with Lebanon will be constant and continuous, regardless of the identity of the next president or the foreign policies of his party. .
The attention of the Lebanese people is turning inward after days have turned towards the United States, and amid the struggle of the presidential candidates in Washington, one of the most prominent presidential candidates in Beirut fell, with a political ambition that did not comply with the practice, so Gebran Bassil’s name ended up hanging on the US sanctions list in support of the “Magnitsky” law that targets corruption and serious human rights violations around the world.
Corruption and Hezbollah
The researcher of the Institute for the Defense of Democracy, Tony Badran, considers that the sanctions imposed against Gebran Bassil today are different from the previous sanctions against the ministers Yusef Fenianos and Ali Hassan Khalil, because they are based on the “Magnitsky” law related to fighting corruption primarily, while the sanctions data includes a reference to Basil’s relationship with Hezbollah, but that was not primarily the cause of the sanctions. “The sanctions reveal the foreign policy of the United States of America towards the domestic political situation, and the announcement of sanctions against Bassil at this time is related to highlighting Washington’s ability to impose technical sanctions based on the presence of irrefutable evidence of Bassil’s corruption, and this is the basic premise of the sanctions. “
This matter was explained by US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, commenting on the sanctions imposed on Bassil, who said: “The systematic corruption in the Lebanese political system, which Bassil represented, helped to undermine the foundations of a government effective service that serves the Lebanese people, and thus this ranking shows that the United States supports the Lebanese people in their continued calls for reform and accountability. “
However, commenting on this decision, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted in his statement that “today’s actions are based on the latest classifications of the fight against terrorism under Executive Order No. 13,224 from former Lebanese officials, Yusef Fenianos and Ali Hassan Khalil, who have forward vested interests and those of Iran-backed Hezbollah. On the interest of the Lebanese people ”, considering that“ Bassil, through his corrupt activities, undermined good governance and contributed to the prevailing system of corruption and political favoritism that afflicted Lebanon, which aided and contributed to the destabilizing activities of Hezbollah ”.
In the political sense, the United States today stands on the side of the Lebanese against the entire corrupt political system in Lebanon, Bassil and others, since any corruption in Lebanon will automatically serve the interests of Hezbollah, which benefits from the weakening of the state, but not the basis for these penalties. Directly attack Hezbollah’s political allies, but specifically the corrupt ones.
The greatest example of this, according to Badran, is Suleiman Franjieh, known for his political alliance with Hezbollah, and is the political reference of former minister Yusef Fenianos, who was sanctioned by Washington last September. However, US Undersecretary of State David Schenker did not hesitate to visit Franjieh, while he did not meet with Basil during his two visits to Lebanon.
The legal dimension
Lawyer and researcher in international law, Ali Zbib, explains the nature of these sanctions, as he believes that even if these sanctions are American, their repercussions and effects will be international, since they are issued in accordance with American laws, and therefore Therefore, no country, including Lebanon, has an obligation to apply them in accordance with the rule of law. In fact, it is imposed to be considered globally, neither are Lebanese banks in a position to risk breaking their relationships with US correspondent banks, nor are any bank or international commercial company that dares to deal with a person who is subject to sanctions, and therefore when a person is placed on the sanctions list, as is the case with Gebran Bassil. This means that it is totally removed from the global financial system, and it does not have the right to manage accounts or commercial operations, and that affects its assets and branches according to a complex mechanism.
It is unlikely that Zbeeb will be affected by the Free Patriotic Movement, as a political body, with these sanctions, since it affects Basilio himself, his origins and branches, and does not legally affect the Free Patriotic Movement, which has a moral character, and their accounts are separate from Bassil, but with politics, everything can be affected by the effects of these sanctions. I hope that you will mobilize all available legal means and make a great effort in the law to pursue this case and appeal the decision, and this is legally possible if you have your international relations and your lawyers and legal advisers, and we cannot forget that Basil, Through his position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he succeeded. In establishing a network of international relations that extends even to the interior of the United States, so that the Lebanese ambassador in Washington is politically affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, and thus a great legal and political lobby can be formed to face this decision and undo of the guillotine.
Political dream
The former deputy for the Future Movement, Ahmed Fatfat, believes that the US sanctions against Bassil today have two headings. The first is political, which is the alliance and support for Hezbollah, and the second title is corruption, “how Gebran Bassil has been exposed to the whole world.”
And he added in his statement to Al-Hurra: “Today we are faced with a new reality, and Lebanon needs the best relations with as many as possible with the countries of the world and the Arab countries specifically to get it out of its economic crisis, and therefore Therefore, from this moment on, any deal with Gebran Bassil as a political reality means. More disconnection from the world and a break in support for Lebanon, not only for the United States, but also at the European and Arab level.
“Nowadays it is not possible to place a person to whom this type of sanctions is found in positions or positions or in a position of responsibility as minister or president, for example,” says Zbeeb, and the most prominent reasons are that “already cannot be present on American soil, and its entry visas are canceled, and it is even scarier than America today It is capable of making a decision based on its laws of an extraterritorial nature, which means that the United States can say that everyone who dealing with a person on the sanction lists will be subject to sanctions and therefore no country in the world, institution or ministry will risk dealing with a listed minister. On the sanctions list. “
Zbeeb continues: “From here, yes, one can talk about eliminating Basil’s political future in the next stage. The same goes for his presidential ambition, since it is impossible to imagine a president of the country included in the sanctions list of America, this issue is destructive locally and internationally, and it will be a president isolated from the world. “
Fatfat gives an example of the president of Kosovo, who was forced to resign after international accusations were leveled against him, and after 48 hours it became another reality, to say that “the dream of the presidency of Gebran Bassil ended. before he started as he can’t have ambitions at this level while his practices are at another level. ” On the contrary, the Lebanese people discovered this before, and since the beginning of the revolution it has been clear that Gebran Bassil’s private goal was, and therefore this dream was not achievable from the beginning, and Gebran Bassil was not originally qualified. for such political ambitions, as a result of its accumulation of fatal mistakes within the Lebanese interior before. Reaching abroad, where his behavior has undermined many of Lebanon’s international relations. “
He continues: “The same applies to the minister, since a minister is a person affected by sanctions who represents a challenge for the whole world and the international community, and in practice this will be reflected in the opportunities of Lebanon, especially with the International Monetary Fund, which makes its decisions based on various financial, economic and political factors as well. So when someone comes forward to take responsibility In general, in the country, he must be qualified to ensure the interests of the country. Is Gebran Bassil qualified today to ensure the interests of Lebanon?
Is the formation of the government affected?
Fatfat confirms that these sanctions will undoubtedly affect the formation of the new government headed by Hariri in Lebanon, and that “it is about the behavior of the Free Patriotic Movement in the coming days, especially if it tries to politically offset these sanctions by trying to achieve moral gains in the government, and this means More Obstruction. But if the national current is affected by a return to the origins of the formation of government announced by Saad Hariri, this means returning to a government of specialists and here there is no problem, but experience says that Gebran Bassil is a stubborn figure and fierce and will try to pressure him to play a bigger role and indirectly compensate in politics. But today is too late for this compensation.
Fatfat expects the popularity of Basil and the Free Patriotic Movement to suffer in the Christian arena in Lebanon, and it is unlikely that he will manage to strain the Christian nerve around him after these sanctions. He cannot assure that after he has torpedoed all his international and Arab relations and thrown Lebanon’s interest into the bosom of an economically collapsing Iran as well. Therefore, the Christian component, which is an important nerve in the Lebanese economy and the banking, education and health sector, will not intensify in favor of Bassil’s policy in support of Hezbollah and its interests, while Hezbollah sells. People are deluded into getting involved with it, and when they are drowning, they drown themselves “, concluding that” Hezbollah is first affected by these sanctions that target its allies, especially with regard to the Christian cover that ensures its alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement ”.
And he highlights that “the message of the Americans today was clear when they accused and condemned Basilio of corruption and not through his relationship with Hezbollah, although they were blinded by this channel, but there was no accusation of any kind. This is all the more concerning because the message in this case is that these penalties are … Firstly, al-Ghaith, while the next phase may have other options, including targeting him with the law that prevents Hezbollah from international funding (HIFPA ) based on the relationship and alliance between Basil and the party, and this imprints Basil’s name with terrorism, and this is totally destructive on all levels. “
