Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in his office in Ain al-Tineh, March 5, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned Thursday that Lebanon’s “independence is being tested in the South,” calling for full support for the Lebanese Army amid ongoing Israeli attacks, in a message addressed to the Lebanese people ahead of Independence Day.
Berri stated that “there, in the South, lies the measure of patriotism and true belonging. There, the seriousness of all official authorities is tested, by fulfilling their commitments, especially reconstruction efforts, and by exerting every possible effort to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression.”
Berri emphasized that “these authorities must act as both guardian and responsible party before and on behalf of the people of the land, those who, alongside the army, forge true independence through steadfastness and clinging to every last grain of national soil and to national principles, no matter how high the cost. They have not and will not waver. So, will we all succeed in this test and achieve independence, and thus deserve it?”
Earlier this month, a high-level meeting on southern Lebanon’s reconstruction was held in Msayleh, under Berri's impulse, to call the government to advance reconstruction, based on a "clear mechanism." Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, regularly criticized by Berri for what the latter describes as a lack of interest for the South, on his part, said in multiple occasions that the government doesn't have the necessary funds for reconstruction and is counting on international funding conferences.
“The authorities must protect the inhabitants of the South who, alongside the army, are forging the country’s true independence by holding fast to the land and to national principles, whatever the cost,” Berri added.
In this context, he called for “full support for the Lebanese Army to allow it to fully carry out the missions entrusted to it,” by redeploying south of the Litani River, where it is tasked with disarming Hezbollah — an ally of Berri’s Amal Movement — before pursuing this mission in the rest of the country.
The head of the legislature also called for “rewarding” the army commander, rather than “sowing doubt, slandering, and pitting the different sides against one another,” at a time when Lebanese Army Commander Rodolph Haykal's meetings with American officials, scheduled for Wednesday in Washington was canceled. According to several senators' posts on X, the U.S. administration is dissatisfied with the Lebanese Army's handling of Hezbollah's disarmament.
Independence 'is a daily test for the Lebanese'
Berri stressed that independence “is a daily test for the Lebanese, people, army, and all authorities. It is a constant call to continue the battle to safeguard the country's independence, protect it from dependency and subservience, uphold sovereignty, fortify the national will against foreign influence, and liberate the land and its people from the grip of occupation.”
He added: “The arena of this test today is the South, which represents a miniature image of Lebanon the nation and Lebanon the message, embodied by its people through shared living, partnership in pain, hope, martyrdom, sacrifice, resurrection, and perseverance.”
On Wednesday afternoon., the Israeli army had issued a series of warnings to residents of southern Lebanon, before launching strikes on five villages claimed to have "Hezbollah military infrastructure."
Strikes that happened with a warning, while others, which happened without evacuation orders, killed 15 people in two days in South Lebanon.
Berri also saluted "all the martyrs" in Lebanon, as well as "families, workers and farmers who tend to their figs, olives, and tobacco fields across all the villages stretching from Naqoura to the heights of Arqoub and Hasbaya", from the Western to the Eastern sectors of the border area.
To mark Independence Day, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is scheduled to address the nation on Friday at 9 p.m., the Baabda press office announced. A program has also been set by the presidency for wreaths to be laid, as every year, on the graves of several political figures described as the “fathers of independence,” by sitting MPs and ministers.
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