House Speaker Nabih Berri affirmed that the Amal Movement and the National Duo are a resistance system, a system of dignity and pride, sacrifice, development, victory, liberation, and the downfall of the May 17 Agreement, aiming to lead Lebanon from the Israeli era to the Arab era. He noted that some, through miscalculation and since October 17, and through the tragedy of the Beirut port explosion, escalated their electoral rhetoric with vile sectarian and confessional incitement, slandering, distortion, lies, and targeting Amal Movement and its history, its achievements, and its alliances. He pointed out that this targeting raises suspicion and reveals the true underlying intentions against Lebanon in general and against the National Duo and the Amal Movement in particular. Berri emphasized that the alliance between the Amal Movement and Hezbollah is not a sectarian alliance aimed at strengthening one sect over another, nor is it an electoral alliance to gain a majority here or there; rather, it is a profound alliance as solid as the mountains, akin to a relationship between a single spirit and body.
He stated that the resistance still represents a pressing national need alongside the army to protect and deter Israeli aggression, even at this current moment when the enemy violates Lebanon's sovereignty and threatens its wealth, executing maneuvers along the border on Election Day. Berri, on behalf of the candidates of the Amal and Loyalty lists, announced their refusal to accept any law or financial and economic reform plan that does not fully restore the rights of all depositors without any infringement. Regarding border demarcation, he affirmed that every cubic meter of gas and oil off the southern Lebanese coastline is a Palestinian right that is occupied and usurped by the Israeli side, and that the framework agreement remains the valid mechanism for accomplishing the demarcation, granting Lebanon the right to fully exploit its riches at sea without concession or normalization.
On the electoral matter, Berri called for heavy voting without hesitation to emphasize adherence to the resistance as a path, culture, and weapon alongside the army, the people, and the resistance, to make clear that the true builders of the nation are these resistors and not the thieves within. He urged turning Election Day into a day of national referendum on the constants of resistance, development, and unity.
Berri's statements were made in a speech directed to the Lebanese and the crowds of Imam Musa Sadr from the Adham Khanjar hall in the town of Mosaileh, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Imam's oath in the city of Tyre, the eve of the anniversary of the downfall of the May 17 Agreement, and the anniversary of Victory and Liberation on May 25, just before the silence before the elections.
He addressed the Lebanese:
"In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful...
O Lebanese people...
O sons of the esteemed Imam Musa Sadr...
On the anniversary of his oath in Tyre, we recall him as a figure of a nation and a homeland... and a loud cry that you echo behind him and witness before God... that there will be no betrayal of the contents of the oath... continuing without hesitation... or weakness... or compromise in demanding rights and citizenship... that you will not rest until no one is deprived or any area remains deprived...
You swear by it a religious covenant connected to human honor...
You swear by the blood of the martyrs...
By the tears of widows and the moans of mothers...
By the pains of the wounded... and the anxiety of students and intellectuals...
And by the determination of the steadfast resistors on the border and the nights of the fearful...
And by the neglected ideas and the wasted dignities and the fight against tyranny...
And God bears witness to what we swore... it is a sacred oath, if you knew, it is great.
To you, O sons of this line in "Bekaa," the difficult but achievable... and the echo of the eternal saying: "Islamic-Christian coexistence is a treasure that must be cherished"... thus you have been the best oath-takers...
To you, O sons of the lofty mountain and the suburbs that have turned misery into strength...
To the people of Beirut, the capital... the beacon of sails that mountains crawl towards, opening their arms and wounds to the four corners of the homeland, becoming a kingdom whose borders extend to the horizon.
To the people of the north in Akkar, the reservoir of sacrifice and loyalty...
To Tripoli, the capital of the north...
To your purity, like the whiteness of Hermon's snow... to the Arqoub, Hasbaya, and Marjayoun, to all the villages, towns, and cities of the south... from Sidon to Jezzine, Nabatiyeh, Bint Jbeil, Tyre, Zahrani, the region of Taffah, and Jabal al-Rihaneh...
To the people of this fifth part of the homeland...
Women and men, youth and young women, workers, farmers, artisans, fishermen, and students...
To all the resistors, those who emerged as knights of the suns who never mixed their directions, who grew stronger through crises and transformed weakness into strength... and refused to walk a path that ends but with victory or martyrdom...
To those who strive to advance in times of retreat...
And stand tall in times of bending...
To those who paint the image of the coming time...
For the martyrs are the titles of our pride and dignity and the role models by whom we shelter in the darkest nights...
To all the Lebanese on the anniversary of the oath and the eve of the anniversary of the fall of the May 17 Agreement and the anniversary of Victory and Liberation...
And before the election silence in the few days separating us from the parliamentary elections due on May 12 and 15...
A thousand greetings to all who made and achieved these bright titles in the history of our homeland, Lebanon.
And now, dear family...
First, I apologize to my brothers, the members of the presidential group in the Amal Movement, members of the executive and political offices, and regional leaders for breaking a decision that was made to refrain from conducting any media electoral activity at the presidential level in the same way I address you today. This was in consideration of the economic, living, and political circumstances that Lebanon and the Lebanese are going through, which necessitate a calm political discourse that gathers rather than divides, that generates solutions and does not deepen crises, that brings views closer together, not the opposite.
But unfortunately, some, through miscalculation, have continued over the past months since October 17, passing through the tragedy of the Beirut port explosion, all the while escalating their electoral rhetoric with vile sectarian and confessional incitement, slandering, distortion, lies, and targeting the Amal Movement and its history, achievements, and alliances in a way that raises suspicion and reveals the true intentions against Lebanon in general and against the National Duo and the Amal Movement in particular, which I repeat today is the movement of the prophets, saints, and righteous, whose martyrs, as Imam Sadr expressed, are the descendants of Christ and the heirs of those who stood with the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They are the modern brigade of Imam Hussein; this is how Imam Sadr wanted us, and this is what we have been in our jihadist, political, and national conduct, and this is how we shall remain.
No one among us harms Lebanon or its people and their message of coexistence and unity.
And today, in the clarity shaped by these three glorious and bright stations in the history of Lebanon and the region that were achieved thanks to the sacrifices of thousands of martyrs from the ranks of the Lebanese Resistance, Amal, and the Islamic Resistance, with support from our sister Syria and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In order that the dark history does not reproduce itself through the investments of Lebanon's enemies, of which there are many, some internally have returned to their original conduct, continuing to commit sins and crimes against Lebanon and the Lebanese, pulling on the sectarian and confessional strings. Whether out of ill intent—this is the pinnacle of suspicion and betrayal against the homeland, its people, and its message—or for cheap populist electoral goals, this is the height of trivialization that must stop for the sake of Lebanon and its image before the world.
Berri added, "In light of what precedes,
O Lebanese... O sons of the clear oath...
You who have never feared blame in the course of God... and have never compromised your country, its unity, or the preservation of its achievements, no matter how high the sacrifices.
You who possess enough awareness and ability to distinguish between good and evil and between right and wrong.
We find ourselves today on the eve of the most important and dangerous electoral entitlement in Lebanon's history, in which you will give your voice to the truth and to those you see as embodying your hopes and aspirations.
In the name of the Amal Movement, in the name of the Development and Liberation Bloc, and in the name of the candidates of the Amal and Loyalty lists in all electoral districts... and also, I say on behalf of the National Duo of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, we find ourselves obliged before you, before the martyrs, and before God and history, and from our political, popular, and national position, to announce and specify our constants and positions regarding the following titles:
First: As long as the rival lists to the Amal and Loyalty lists, in all their flavors and colors, slogans, and programs, from the far right to the far left and everything in between, are transnational and have ignored all their agendas and raised their election cries far from the current living, economic, and financial reality, and have falsely limited it to what’s known as the danger represented by the duo of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, with cries of doom and suffering over the weapon of resistance, while their tune remains the same: "I hit and cried, and they preceded me and complained."
In this context, we affirm to our people that no voice should be louder than the voice of the people and their pain, and their right to the government to act even if it has only one day left of its constitutional existence in order to alleviate the burden of the crisis and find solutions that ease the burdens on the people in all matters related to their health, living, social, financial, and security.
As for the fallen who do not hesitate in their speeches, in secret and in public, day and night, to solicit offers for foreign backing against those who should be their brethren in the homeland...
To these, we say: It is our fate to live together... It is our destiny unity... The alliance between the Amal Movement and Hezbollah is not a sectarian alliance to empower one sect over another, nor is it an electoral alliance to gain a majority from here or there; it is an alliance akin to a relationship between a single spirit and body, an alliance as solid as mountains that represents a vital force for protecting Lebanon and enhancing a culture of dialogue among its spiritual and political shades. Above all, it is an alliance among the sons of the same resistance that remains, even at this current moment, when the enemy violates Lebanon's sovereignty and threatens its wealth and executes maneuvers even on Election Day along the border with Lebanon—a resistance that still represents an urgent national need alongside the army to protect and deter Israeli aggression.
Fear God for Lebanon and come to a common word...
Second: Regarding the issue of what is called "toppling the system" and that the duo, as they claim, represents the spearhead and covers each other’s corruption and waste,
We clearly state on behalf of the duo: May the judiciary, law, and constitution be the judges of issues of corruption and waste; no one enjoys immunity, and history witnesses that no one has approached this file like the Amal Movement has judicially over the years, achieving laws and regulations that would have changed what we have reached today had they been implemented. We are with the actual, not rhetorical, toppling of the system of corruption and waste...
But beware, folks, of those who exploit your suffering, your blood, and your legitimate demands with slogans for which a wrong is intended.
Beware, because we know, concretely, that the last concern of such people is fighting corruption and toppling its system; their eyes, and what they plot in the dark electoral corridors, aim at targeting the values system through the electoral entitlement. Our system is a system of resistance, a system of dignity, a system of pride, a system of sacrifice, development, victory, liberation, and the downfall of the May 17 Agreement, leading Lebanon from the Israeli era to the Arab era.
Third: Regarding the economic and financial issue, we affirm, on behalf of the candidates of the Amal and Loyalty lists, that we will not accept any law or any plan for financial and economic correction and recovery that does not restore the rights of all depositors completely without any infringement...
We support the completion of forensic auditing of all state accounts starting from the Central Bank and in parallel with all ministries and funds, especially Electricité du Liban, and who knows what Electricité du Liban means...
We support hastening the completion of contracts for new power plants as soon as possible, whether with the East or the West...
What is important is that the government has the courage to stop this hemorrhaging of what remains of money in the state treasury.
This file should be detached from sectarian dispute and from the internal struggle between this axis and that.
It is time for Lebanon to knock on the door of encouraging investment in alternative energy on a wide scale to generate electricity from wind, water, and solar energy and to emulate what is happening in Syria, the UAE, and several neighboring countries...
In this framework, I declare that the issue of alternative energy will be a priority on the agenda of our deputies and ministers in the coming phase through a series of practical proposals that can be implemented.
Fourth: On the matter of border demarcation, which we have fought for in exhausting negotiations for nearly ten years...
In principle and strategically, we consider that every cubic meter of gas and oil opposite the southern Lebanese maritime borders is a usurped and occupied Palestinian right by the Israeli side. While awaiting the realization of the Palestinian dream of liberation and return and the establishment of their independent state with its capital in Jerusalem, we emphasize that the framework agreement remains the valid mechanism for accomplishing the borders’ demarcation that grants Lebanon the right to fully invest its marine resources without concession, neglect, normalization, or barter. Under this ceiling, the official Lebanon is ready to resume negotiations at any moment, and the ball is in the court of the brokered parties for indirect negotiations, but not indefinitely, with a maximum timeframe of one month after which drilling in the obligatory blocks shall begin without hesitation, or else other companies will be compelled to engage.
Berri continued: Let it be clear to the heroes of screens, the theorists, and the experts that the Amal Movement has delineated Lebanon's borders both on land and at sea, tying the sea to the land and the land to the sea with the blood of its martyrs, which is the most precious we have, and we will not squander our blood under any circumstance or pressure, as our brother Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah confirmed yesterday.
Fifth: On the electoral culture, which the Lebanese have not been accustomed to in their recent history, which those who have self-appointed themselves as political guardians over the Lebanese sects have attempted to categorize the duo of Amal and Hezbollah between the culture of death and the culture of life, we say to him and others: We are in the domain of the anniversary of the downfall of May 17 and the anniversary of the oath and the anniversary of victory and liberation—all of these are titles of life... titles of honor, pride, and dignity. Our children embody the highest practice of the culture of life, offering their souls for a free, sovereign, and independent Lebanon.
Berri concluded:
O Lebanese people...
O dear family...
Based on what has been presented, and because all these achievements are made by you and your brothers and your martyred sons...
And because all these constants and their permanence are a result of your faith and their realization is governed by your unyielding will and unyielding determination and your immeasurable loyalty...
You are the hope and good work...
Your sincerity and commitment have always been the decisive word in all elections.
May 15 is a date when you are invited to vote for this project that has crafted the pillars of Lebanon's strength and safeguarded its unity, transforming us from mere neglected numbers in census lists to figures that have changed the face of the nation and lifted it from humiliation and degradation to victory and pride.
You are invited on May 15 to vote for the martyrs who have lived out the culture of life at its highest form.
You are invited to vote heavily as Imam Sadr wanted you to be, like the restless waves of the sea, in favor of enacting a contemporary electoral law based on proportionality according to expanded districts, a law outside sectarian affiliation with women's quotas, lowering the voting age, and establishing a Senate.
You are invited to vote heavily and without hesitation to emphasize adherence to the resistance as a path, culture, and weapon alongside the army and the people and resistance. So that everyone may understand that the true builders of the nation are those resistors and not the internal thieves.
Yes, you are invited to vote for the Amal and Loyalty lists heavily in rejection of the aggression and siege that Lebanon is experiencing in an attempt to recreate what all the Israeli wars against your country, your villages, and your towns have failed to achieve.
Yes, to toppling the aggression through which they seek to avenge the dose of dignity and pride you have provided, which they could not withstand, neither domestically nor abroad.
You have always been great, as in all national and sovereign entitlements...
You are invited in this constitutional entitlement to be even greater by turning it into a day of national referendum on these titles.
Lebanon and the whole world are again looking at you... O sincere ones who have never forsaken your oath... looking towards here... to the south... to this side that knows how to preserve Lebanon and safeguard its achievements and which is always at the mercy of your sincere positions and your thunderous votes in the ballot boxes, with the appointment of unity always being hope... Together we will remain the number that changes equations.
