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During his statement to the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper in an article by journalist Hoda Al-Husseini, Shanker said that the Lebanese government must believe in the reform. You need a government that cares about its people and their demands, a responsible and transparent government that carries out economic and political reforms. It will no longer be “business as usual”.
Shankar travels to Lebanon to meet with civil society groups, to hear more details about their requests, ideas and what they expect from the government, because as he says, the Lebanese government must listen to its people and because the US government wants make sure of what the Lebanese people want.
Regarding the international investigation of the shipment of ammonium nitrate, Schenker said that they are committed to the investigation and that there are US teams working: “If we are talking about an international court, the investigation would take a long time and the parties may not be satisfied, but We hope that the Lebanese government will also be transparent, with the presence of various international groups. We hope that a conclusion will be reached when announcing it so that those responsible will bear the crime of what happened, especially since many knew about the existence of this article for a long time ”.
Schenker admits that the investigation will remain secret until it is finished. This is not the investigation that ends in 5 days, and while he admitted that the explosion was a great shock, “but based on the actions of the Lebanese governments, it was not a surprise.”
On the role of France, Schenker says: “We are in constant contact with the French about Lebanon. The United States and France are very interested in Lebanon. It is the second visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, and the US Undersecretary of State. David Hale was there, and I spent a lot of time with Mike Pompeo. ” The Foreign Minister, before going to Beirut, is very interested and very focused on the events in Lebanon, because Lebanon is a very longtime partner and friend of the United States. ”
And if you heard the name of Mustafa Adeeb, the prime minister-designate, Schenker said: “We are not concerned with personality, principles, transparency and accountability are important to us. Lebanon is in crisis now, because of what happened in Beirut. There are around 300 thousand people without shelter, but before that I was in glory. An economic crisis, which pushed 80% of the people into poverty since the lira lost 80% of the value it had 7 months ago. and more than 20% of the people are below the poverty line, so we want to help the Lebanese people, we work in humanitarian aid and in the United States. It was the largest donor to Lebanon. “
What if the United States will work to save Lebanon financially and assist it in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund? It says: “Lebanon has not begun to negotiate with the IMF, because the Hassan Diab government, which was in power for nearly 200 days, did not reach the point of negotiating with the Fund and continued to discuss issues with the Fund, but did not reach a decision on the Lebanese debt and the economic situation. ” Therefore, I believe that the Lebanese government does not feel any emergency situation that simulates the suffering of the Lebanese people.
And if he will meet with Nabih Berri, Speaker of Parliament, regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel, Schenker says: “If there is any development on the Lebanese side, I will do it, otherwise I do not intend to meet any politician. “
Regarding David Hale’s statement that the United States is not opposed to Hezbollah’s participation in government, Schenker says: “(Hezbollah) has participated in many governments and, like many political forces in Lebanon, is not interested in reform. You prefer the status quo and are interested in continuing. By defending the Iranians, and interested in continuing without paying the cost of the customs that provide revenue to the state, he is a big part of the problem, thus standing in the way of reform. But again, I say: it is principles that matter to us when forming governments.
And if the imposition of sanctions on Lebanese personalities who cooperate with “Hezbollah” remains on the US agenda, as the French daily “Le Figaro” reported last Monday, that the French and Americans are considering imposing sanctions of this kind, are we going to that way? “Yes, we are working on this,” Schenker replies. “There will be investigations to arrive at the imposition of sanctions on some of the characters.”
What if the stolen money will return to the Lebanese people? He says, “This should be part of the reform agenda. We know that companies are doing this work and they did it in Kuwait after Saddam Hussein’s invasion. They helped to give back some money, and I think this is the right of the man. Lebanese people to demand their government. “
