LF back amnesty law supported by most Sunni MPs

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Forces (LF) on Thursday reaffirmed their support for an amnesty law backed by the majority of Sunni MPs.

Their statement came less than a week after MPs from the Strong Republic bloc walked out of Parliament during debate on the bill, causing the session to lose quorum and adjourn.

LF also criticized those who "have made a habit of distorting facts, falsifying reality, and taking statements out of context in order to conduct campaigns that have no connection to the truth, serving well-known political objectives," in response to criticism that followed an interview with its leader, Samir Geagea, on Radio Free Lebanon, during which he addressed the topic.

"The majority of Sunni MPs boycotted the session while waiting for a response from Speaker Nabih Berri [regarding amendments to the general amnesty law]. In fact, they boycotted most of the sessions, refusing to participate in debates on an amnesty law they considered inappropriate. If the Strong Republic bloc did withdraw from the session, it was to prevent the adoption of an amnesty law that does not meet the required criteria," Geagea said.

At the time of the debate, the Sunni community, which supports amnesty, was deeply divided over which legislation to adopt, a situation that has not changed since. Some Sunni MPs, most of whom boycotted the parliamentary session, are advocating for the release of as many detainees as possible, including the Salafist Ahmad al-Assir, who has been incarcerated since 2015 for participating in fighting against the army in Abra in 2013.

On the other hand, some Sunni MPs are pushing for rapid adoption of the amnesty law and have therefore sharply criticized the LF's withdrawal. Among them are Nabil Badre (Beirut), Walid Baarini (Akkar), and Bilal Hocheimi (Zahle), who were present in the chamber.

During the session, Hezbollah appeared willing to overlook certain reservations so as not to block the adoption of the bill.

In their statement, the LF asserted that "the real objective of certain MPs was to have a partial version of the amnesty law adopted, one that did not have the support of all Sunni MPs and simply excluded a specific category of detainees, serving Hezbollah's interests [...]. These same parties are now trying to reverse the facts and mislead public opinion to cover up this reality."