Lebanon

Jaja: Bassil Wants to Get Rid of the Army Commander

Jaja: Bassil Wants to Get Rid of the Army Commander

Head of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Jaja, affirmed that "the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, wants to get rid of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun for two reasons: first, that Aoun managed to build an entity for the military institution and prevented any political interference in it, especially regarding appointments, and has managed it properly, particularly since there is no political disagreement between the two men, considering that Aoun does not interfere in political affairs and has never made political statements. The second reason is that Bassil fears the Army Commander due to the fact that the 'Aounists' listen to him, and if he remains in his position and later elsewhere, he could become a serious and strong competitor to him."

Jaja stated, "Bassil contradicts himself today on '100 issues,' as he had previously taken strict stances on these matters. He was the one who openly stated that in the absence of a president, there should be no appointments, but when the issue concerns Joseph Aoun, he now wants appointments. He claimed to preserve the president’s powers and refused for the government to convene during the vacancy, especially since it is a caretaker government, but today he seeks for it to meet and make appointments as well. He repeatedly stated that this government cannot make any decision except by consensus and with the signatures of 24 ministers, yet today he accepts that decisions can be made without consensus. Thus, this is Gebran Bassil, who adopts the motto 'Everything I love is here,' ignoring all his previous stances and forgetting the positions of the presidency and army leadership under this motto: 'Everything is for the love of power and self-interest here.' Therefore, the question arises: 'How do you want to build the country with such mentalities?'"

Jaja stressed that "despite everything we are witnessing in Lebanon, Palestine, Gaza, and the entire region, we see that Bassil's main concern today is the 'removal' of Joseph Aoun from the leadership of the army during this difficult time, where everyone is searching for a responsible figure 'from underground' amid the vacancy in numerous state positions, foremost among them the presidency, which is being obstructed by 'the axis of resistance.' Meanwhile, the only essential position left in the country is the leadership of the army, which is occupied by a figure appointed by them. We, as a party, protested against that in the Cabinet, but circumstances led Joseph Aoun to have direct experience in this position for the past six years, during which he proved his capability in managing the military institution. Therefore, based on this, there should be no change in this position, especially since everyone knows that in times of war, officers are not changed. However, Bassil has set all these matters aside and is 'putting all his weight' today to get rid of the Army Commander."

Our readers are reading too