Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil gives a speech in Jezzine, April 30, 2023. (Photo taken from the Tayyar.org website)
BEIRUT — In a speech Sunday during a visit to Jezzine with Michel Aoun, former Lebanese president and founder of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), FPM leader MP Gebran Bassil addressed the issue of the presidential election, which has been stalled since the end of Aoun's mandate in October.
Bassil once again expressed his rejection of Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh as a presidential candidate. Frangieh enjoys the unofficial support of France and the official backing of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement for the presidency.
Bassil also addressed the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, inviting everyone to "take advantage of the understanding between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria" to ensure the return of the refugees to Syria, despite it being deemed unsafe for return by multiple human rights groups.
Here are his main statements:
On the presidential election:
- "We want a president who represents the true partnership in power. A strong president, not a weak one — strong in character but also in the support of the people and the parliamentary groups. If that person is not representative enough, that can be made up for by a parliamentary cover that supports him or her. So it is our responsibility to agree on a candidate."
- "We have a great historical responsibility as Christians. We must agree so as not to give pretexts to some in the local scene and abroad to impose a president on us."
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- "As the FPM, we have accepted the candidacy of more than one person. Those who follow the file know these names. But we are not going to announce them or adopt them because we are serious when we say we want to reach an agreement, and we do not want to enter the game of names so as not to eliminate them."
- "We want to propose names around which there is, in the first place, a Christian agreement, and a national one in the second place, to tell others not to impose on us candidates other than ours. As long as our position is only to refuse names, we will remain incapable and partly responsible for the crisis."
-"We must take a positive position by agreeing on a candidate and trying to convince others to vote for him; otherwise, we must go to Parliament and vote for a candidate capable of succeeding and expressing our choices."
- "To those who threaten us with missing the boat of compromise, we say: We are not afraid and want to stay out of the compromise because it will be lame and will fall. We do not want to fall with this compromise."
- "We will not support any attempt to break the will of the Lebanese or any marginalization of the Christians."
- "Let no one threaten us with the equation 'Me or chaos' thinking that he can impose it. In the past, no one was able to impose it against Michel Aoun who refused it and was supported by the population. Today, we follow suit and say no to the chaos equation."
Lebanon has been mired in a political impasse since the end of Aoun's mandate in October due to lack of consensus on a presidential candidate. Facing the opposition camp, which remains divided, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement have formalized their support for Frangieh, who is facing a Christian veto, notably that of Bassil, who considers himself a "natural candidate," but who has not yet announced his candidacy.
According to some observers, Frangieh enjoys the support of France in a barter that would allow the election of a president close to the Iranian axis and a prime minister who could be supported by Riyadh, such as Nawaf Salam. But Paris has denied having a preferred candidate in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia's position on such a compromise is unclear, while the main Christian groups in Lebanon are opposed to it.
Bassil gas tried to reach out to fellow Christian political leader Samir Geagea, who heads the Lebanese Forces (LF), to form a common front against the Frangieh candidacy. But the LF leader recently stated that an agreement with the FPM leader "is impossible unless Bassil decides to vote for our candidate." The LF backs MP Michel Moawad for the presidency.
Some observers, meanwhile, believe that the restoration of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran in March could have positive repercussions in Lebanon. Others believe that regional diplomatic efforts to bring Damascus back into the Arab fold could facilitate the election of Frangieh, who is known for his closeness to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
On Syrian refugees:
- "We fear the sectarian, racial and confessional incitement that is taking place and is currently programmed in Lebanon against Syrian refugees."
- "We call for taking advantage of the dialogue and understanding between Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran, to ensure a proper, safe and decent return of Syrian refugees by rebuilding Lebanon and Syria, and not by creating a new sedition between the Lebanese and Syrians that serves a divisive project."
Lebanon has been witnessing rising anti-Syrian sentiment over the past week, prompting the Lebanese authorities to announce stronger measures against Syrian refugees. The government has called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to hand over its data on Syrians in Lebanon, and has asked the international community to participate in sending refugees back to Syria.
