The Lebanese "Katayeb" Party affirmed today, Tuesday, that "any initiative that does not take Lebanon's sovereignty and constitutional texts into account will be confronted by all available means." After the weekly meeting of the Katayeb political bureau, the following statement was issued:
"We appreciate any external initiative that could alleviate the imminent danger facing Lebanon due to the ongoing regional conflict and the threats extending into new Lebanese areas, resulting in more innocent victims. However, any proposal must meet a set of criteria that cannot be overlooked according to the Lebanese constitution:
1. It must be free and liberated from any external or internal domination, possess the decision of war and peace, safeguard its borders, and have its decisions emanate from representatives of the Lebanese people.
2. Weapons must be confined to legitimate forces, with the Lebanese army being the sole entity authorized to defend the homeland without dispute.
3. All Lebanese must be equal under the law, with no part considered first-class citizens and another second-class.
4. It must respect Lebanon's identity and pluralism as stated in the preamble of the constitution, maintaining its unifying role in the world and being respected.
We reject any proposal that does not consider these principles and will confront it by all available means.
It is essential to liberate the presidential entitlement and not to wager on exchanging it for regional events, as all countries neighboring conflict areas meet their entitlements on time, except for Lebanon, which has become a hostage to Hezbollah and Iran's agenda.
Any initiative will inevitably fail as long as Hezbollah and its team insist on a policy of imposition, rejecting any departure from the resistant candidate through whom what is being imposed today by fact will be completed legally.
We hold the remnants of the authority responsible for the consequences arising from approving salary increases that, while justified, were patchwork and differentiated between categories, without a plan to secure the necessary funds. We question the sources of funds to secure salaries and caution against returning to the policy of printing money, which led to inflation and the collapse of Lebanese capabilities."
