Flags of the Free Patriotic Movement. (Credit: NNA)
The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) said on Tuesday that it had never "closed the door to dialogue," but that it should take place "in accordance with the rules" at a time when several parliamentarians have left the political party or been removed from it. Less than a week ago, FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan announced a new initiative aimed at relaunching dialogue between the FPM and these parliamentarians.
"The leadership and the political body of the FPM have affirmed their interest in every individual within the FPM, whether activist or official, and have never closed the door to dialogue on any internal or external issue, but in compliance with the rules, principles and policies of the FPM," underlined a statement issued after a meeting of the political body of the FPM, chaired by Gebran Bassil. "Any discussion takes place within the structures of the FPM, and not during press conferences and media initiatives that lead to nothing, and not through deliberate and permanent absence from meetings of the council and the political body," underlined the party.
The party of former President Michel Aoun has seen a significant wave of departures of dissident parliamentarians who disagree with his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, who leads the party. Two weeks ago, Simon Abi Ramia, considered one of the pillars of the movement, slammed the door after the exclusions of Alain Aoun, nephew of the former president, at the beginning of the month, and Elias Bou Saab, vice-president of the Parliament, last March.
The FPM also addressed in its statement the war in Gaza and its repercussions in Lebanon. "The FPM reaffirms its position that everything must be done to distance the war from Lebanon and not link it to regional conflicts with unpredictable consequences. If the Israeli enemy wants to attack Lebanon and extend its aggression, there is no other option but to stand by Lebanon and the Lebanese against Israel," the text continued.
Finally, the FPM discussed the electricity issue at a time when the public supplier Electricite du Liban (EDL) triggered a near-complete blackout. It praised the countries that said they were ready to help Lebanon, including Algeria and Iraq. "The political exploitation of the electricity crisis to attack the FPM is something we are used to," denounced the movement, whose leader was Minister of Energy in the past.
Since Saturday, the Lebanese have had to rely almost entirely on private generators for electricity. That day, EDL announced that it had shut down all units of its thermal power plants after exhausting its fuel stocks, having not received the last expected delivery under the swap agreement that has linked Lebanon to Iraq since 2021.
Since then, reactions and announcements have followed one another, contrasting with the silence that prevailed despite EDL's warnings at the beginning of July about this risk. On Sunday, Algeria promised to supply fuel to Lebanon and on Monday, the Iraqi government denied "rumors that Iraq had stopped supplying fuel to Lebanon," attributing the delay in the last delivery to "technical and logistical reasons."
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.