The media circle of the "Lebanese Forces" responded in a detailed statement to a series of remarks made by Speaker of the House Nabih Berri yesterday.
The media circle of the Lebanese Forces commented on Berri's statement that "it is unacceptable for the Arab region to move towards understandings and harmony while we, internally, are drifting apart from our unity." The statement said: "Understandings, Mr. Speaker, occur based on shared grounds and references such as the Constitution, the state, unified weaponry, and international resolutions. Understandings do not come through surrendering to the status quo or accepting illegal weapons and porous borders while the homeland becomes a battleground."
Regarding Berri's comment that "the root of the problem lies in the deeply embedded sectarianism in all facets of our political life and the state," the Lebanese Forces stated, "The root of the problem is the absence of affiliation to Lebanon and loyalty to the state. If sectarianism were to be removed tomorrow, would the resistance weapon preventing the establishment of a real state be removed as well? Certainly not. The remedy must start with a single weapon and everyone under the roof of the state, the Constitution, and the law."
The Lebanese Forces added, "We do not doubt at all the central strategic goal of President Berri, which is to achieve numerical democracy at the expense of existing pluralism in a way that facilitates control over Lebanon. The tactical goal is to revert to Ghazi Kanaan's laws and electoral manipulations to ensure the resistance maintains a parliamentary majority that produces resistant constitutional authorities."
On Berri's call to implement what has not been executed from the Taif Agreement, the statement said, "What has not been executed from the Taif Agreement is its essence, substance, and core, which pertains to sovereignty and is outlined in Clause Two regarding the establishment of Lebanese state sovereignty over all Lebanese territories. Clause One stipulates the disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and the surrendering of their weapons to the Lebanese state. Meanwhile, the keeping of Hezbollah's weapons under the guise of resistance has kept sovereignty violated, the Constitution suspended, the state kidnapped, stability threatened, equality diminished, justice absent, and led to wars, missile attacks, threats with tens of thousands of fighters, and the closure of the capital's center, creating an endless cycle of practices that have turned the homeland into a battleground and a farm."
The Lebanese Forces concluded their statement by indicating that "what is required is to stop the ongoing coup against the state and Constitution that began in 1990. Unless this coup is halted, Lebanon will remain, due to the resistance, at the bottom of hell."
