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In a message addressed to President Michel Aoun on the occasion of independence, French President Emmanuel Macron stated: “France’s adherence to the fraternal relations that unite our two countries and peoples, which attach great importance to the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon This country has always been an example of openness and freedom in the region. ” . Macron wished Aoun to strongly invite all political forces to put aside their personal, sectarian and factional interests, in order to achieve the supreme interest of Lebanon alone and the interest of the Lebanese people, highlighting the work of France and its partners. to hold a conference to support the Lebanese people.
Macron: follow the demands of the Lebanese
The French President’s message read: “On the occasion of the rebirth of Lebanon’s Independence Day, I offer you, on my personal behalf and on behalf of the French people, the best sentiments of friendship to you and the Lebanese nation.
France is especially attached to the fraternal relations that unite our countries and peoples. It attaches great importance to the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon. This country has always been an example of openness and freedom in the region. I was able to reiterate this issue during the two visits I made in the summer after the August 4 explosion.
I am deeply concerned about the current situation in your country and am aware of the increasing difficulties Lebanese men and women face in their daily lives. They can count on France’s support to meet their urgent needs in the fields of food, health, education and housing. We are working, in cooperation with the United Nations and all our partners, to hold an international conference in support of the Lebanese people.
However, all this is not enough, as the multifaceted crisis that Lebanon is going through, at various economic, financial, social and political levels, requires strong measures. The solutions are known: the road map to which all political parties committed on September 1 must be implemented. This roadmap responds to the requirements of the sincere friends of Lebanon, as well as the legitimate expectations expressed by the Lebanese people. The mere implementation of this map will guarantee the necessary mobilization of the international community, to avoid the collapse of the country and help it adopt reforms that are inevitable for its resurgence.
The rush, at present, requires the formation of a government of qualified personalities, capable of being reliable and capable of implementing all these measures. In this context, you, Excellency the President, have a special responsibility. Lebanon today faces enormous options and you, as an actor in its history, know it. What the Lebanese people demanded about a year ago during their uprising can still be achieved. It is your duty as the head of state to respond to it and to urge all political forces to put aside their personal, sectarian and factional interests, in order to achieve the supreme interest of Lebanon only and the interest of the Lebanese people.
Your Excellency, you can be sure that France is today, as at all times, with Lebanon and the Lebanese people. “
Basil’s letter to Macron
In return, and as is his habit of ignoring any responsibility or his association in the government system, the head of the powerful Lebanese bloc, Deputy Gebran Bassil, wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, in which he complained about the parliament and from all political forces, in particular from Presidents Nabih Berri and Saad Hariri. Without naming them. This message is most likely to be a source of additional political tension in the coming days.
The following is the text of the message:
Mr. president,
I am writing to you with this message on the impact of a major setback in the reform project in Lebanon and, consequently, on the essence of the initiative that he launched during his visit to Lebanon on September 1 on the occasion of the centenary of the Greater Lebanon, which was agreed with you at the Pine Palace; It is an initiative aimed at preserving this Lebanon. It focused on the need for the state to undertake fundamental and structural reforms of the banking, financial and economic system through parliament and a “mission” government capable of implementing the reform program, provided that you, for your part, help encouraging countries to participate in a program of support to Lebanon in exchange for the reforms that are being carried out. Originally in the supreme national interest.
In light of the liquidity crisis, the shortage of funds of Lebanese depositors in Lebanese banks and the large financial gap that appeared in the accounts of the Banque du Liban, it was natural that at the forefront of the reform document was the reform of the financial and banking system by conducting a criminal audit of the accounts of the Central Bank of Lebanon and passing the law that controls transfers. Financing abroad.
Unfortunately, this law has not yet been approved, despite the fact that in the Free Patriotic Movement we were able to present proposals in this regard to the House of Representatives that had been approved by some parliamentary blocs, and soon collapsed when presented in the sessions of Parliament. It is evident to say that with the passage of more than a year since the explosive financial crisis without the approval of this law, this is evidence of covert corruption, with discretionary smuggling of funds abroad, given the lack of liquidity and the low reserves necessary for buy basic necessities of life abroad.
Mr. president,
We had asked him to help us through the European Community to uncover the funds looted and smuggled, discreetly, since October 17, 2019, and return them to Lebanon to alleviate the severity of the crisis and reduce the size of losses from the depositors. Once again, we call on you to help us in accordance with current international standards and laws to stop the series of smuggling of corrupt funds and expose those involved in it. This would help the Lebanese people distinguish between reformists and corrupt, which would reshape political life in Lebanon and lead for the first time in its history to the adoption of the principle of accountability.
To date, Parliament has not been able to pass a series of anti-corruption laws that were introduced by our parliamentary bloc, the passage of which would hit the corrupt and stop their series of public thefts, including the recovery of contraband money, the automatic disclosure of the accounts and property of each public service official and the establishment of a special court for crimes. Financial.
Likewise, the Parliament has been late to date in approving the laws of independence of the judiciary and public procurement included in its initiative, which are unjustified for delaying their approval, especially since the matter does not require the existence of a government with full powers.
This government, which we agree with you on the criteria for its formation, that it be one in all, and that it be a government capable of implementing, supported by the representative blocs and that has the confidence of the Lebanese people, the parliament and the international community . Unfortunately, their training was delayed, on the one hand, because some linked the training process to external issues, waiting for developments and avoiding sanctions. On the other hand, due to the attempt by some to intimidate the French initiative and the dire economic situation, to impose unusual conditions contrary to the constitution and the charter and to achieve national balance and political stability; Consequently, this prevents the establishment of a stable political climate favorable to reform.
All this, we seek to overcome it and we remain anxious for the reform and the success of your initiative. However, the great setback was the cancellation of the criminal audit contract in the accounts of Banque du Liban with a specialized international company, because the financial political system that controls the country does not see it as an interest for it, rather it sees it as an exposition. To their interests and reveal to the Lebanese public the truth about their crimes.
While the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and since he was at the head of our parliamentary bloc, since 2005 has tried to implement this criminal control, those affected seek to prevent it, and in the last period they left only one medium and used it to attack it, and in fact managed to divert the company in charge of carrying out the audit by refusing to supply it. With the required information. President Aoun has sent a letter to Parliament urging it to take whatever it takes to conduct the criminal audit of the Bank of Lebanon accounts and see it as an entry point to audit all public expenditures. We will endeavor with him to accomplish this matter, and we are aware of how much he agrees with President Aoun on the priority of this investigation as a natural and intuitive input to begin the process of financial correction and the detection and recovery of looted funds, donated and transferred. From this section, that is, your concern for Lebanon, we write to you out of fear of your initiative to save Lebanon, and because of our certainty that you can put pressure on this system that rejects the financial audit by exposing it, with its ability to discover facts to through the European and international banking system.
Mr. president,
We are determined to carry out the forensic audit and reform to the end, and I am sure that you and France will not leave the Lebanese people alone in this battle. “
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