Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea. (Credit: LF)
Since the murder of Lebanese Forces (LF) coordinator for Jbeil Pascal Sleiman on April 7, Samir Geagea has made the return of Syrians to their country his top priority. “It’s an existential issue,” he told L’Orient-Le Jour, rejecting the abuses against Syrians in recent weeks.
OLJ: You’ve been campaigning for the return of Syrians to the so-called safe zones since the murder of Pascal Sleiman. Some described this position as populist, at a time when no zone in Syria is considered safe. Which zones are you referring to?
Geagea: The Pascal Sleiman case is the last straw since it is now certain that Syrian nationals committed the crime. The Lebanese Army arrested the five people involved. It was on this occasion that the case came back to the fore. But long before the murder, the Syrian presence’s issue already existed. It is a demographic, economic and social issue, but it is above all existential.
That’s why we’ve embarked on this battle and we’re not going to back down. We can’t stand idly by and watch the country collapse, as we risk being literally flooded by foreigners. This exceeds the capacity of a country like Lebanon.
OLJ: Could you clearly define ‘safe zones’ in Syria today?
Geagea: First of all, I’d like to point out that 10 to 15 million Syrians are living in Syria today though this in no way eclipses the fact that the situation has never been good there [politically speaking].
Secondly, one can say there is a ‘safe’ zone for every category of Syrian. So, for example, Islamist opponents to the regime could very well live in Idlib, while the north of the country could accommodate less radical opponents. There are also the 200,000 or so Syrians present in Lebanon who voted in the Syrian presidential elections. They can easily return home [to regime-controlled areas].
I would also like to stress that the return we are calling for does not concern those on the Syrian regime’s blacklist, given that the UNHCR has to find a third destination for those facing real danger among the 1,700,000 Syrians present in Lebanon. Moreover, Lebanon is a country of transit, not of refuge.
OLJ: Following Pascal Sleiman’s murder, the number of assaults against Syrians in Lebanon rose sharply. The LF just issued a statement denouncing these acts. Don’t you fear that the lack of awareness of the dangers behind this kind of action could lead the country into serious security problems?
Geagea: We didn’t limit ourselves to the statement [which the LF media office published three days after Sleiman’s murder]. We have also sanctioned the party’s members involved in these assaults, which we reject. The security forces also intervened in this respect, which enabled turning the page. But we must also recognize that we can’t ask people not to react when faced with explosive situations. Hence, the main problem needs to be handled, namely the massive presence of Syrians in Lebanon.
OLJ: The LF seems to be misleading public opinion lately. On the one hand, they see themselves as the standard-bearers of the so-called sovereignist confrontation with Hezbollah. On the other, they make the issue of Syrian migrants their hobbyhorse. What is your real battle today?
Geagea: We’re fighting different battles: That of the return of Syrians and that of confrontation with Hezbollah. I’d like to point out that, following the murder of Elias Hasrouni [an LF executive found dead in his native village of Ain Ibl in southern Lebanon in August 2023], we directly accused Hezbollah.
In the Pascal Sleiman case, I do not accuse Hezbollah, as there is no supporting evidence. But that doesn’t in any way reduce [the scale of our confrontation] with this party for known reasons, starting with its unilateral decision to lead the country towards war, paralyzing the institutions and preventing the presidential election. At the same time, we are leading the battle for the return of Syrian refugees to their homes.
OLJ: But you’re doing so when you were one of the first to advocate for their stay in Lebanon since the start of the war in Syria.
Geagea: That’s what the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) says and wants the public to believe. I still support the Syrian revolution against the dictatorial regime of Bashar al-Assad. But I have a question for those who criticize us today: What did you do about this matter when you had a dozen ministers [in the Mikati cabinet under whose term the flow of Syrian migrants to Lebanon began]? What did you do when the president was one of you? They should stop deceiving the Lebanese.
OLJ: The authorities have turned a deaf ear to your calls to hold the municipal elections, and Parliament is heading toward postponing the vote for the third time. What is your take on this?
Geagea: As long as the Mumanaa camp [led by Hezbollah] and the FPM exist, there will be no state building. Proof of this is the municipal elections, which they want to torpedo because, after the 2022 legislative elections, they’ve realized that the popular mood is no longer in their favor.
In response to everything being said, I’d like to assure that we don’t seek to dissociate the south from the rest of the country. All we have to do is hold the elections in the south after the end of hostilities, as was the case for the 1998 elections, which were held three years later in the south [after the Israeli withdrawal in 2000].
There was no valid pretext [for postponing them] last year. But they delayed the vote to avoid an undesirable test of popularity. [Delaying the vote] will be made possible today, thanks to the shameful behavior of the FPM [which will take part in the session scheduled for this purpose on Thursday, under a tacit agreement with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri].
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translated by Joelle El Khoury.