The head of the "Free Patriotic Movement," MP Gebran Bassil, announced that the international arrest warrant issued by the French judiciary against the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, marks "the beginning of a long phase of accountability for the guilty and the thieves of people's money." He stated, "With the issuance of the arrest warrant, the spark for the liberation of Lebanon from corruption has been ignited."
In an interview with Radio Monte Carlo International from Paris, Bassil pointed out that "we are living in a time of unaccountability for offenders, and we believe this is over," noting that "Lebanon, with its judicial, security, and political institutions, forms a complete system that protects the Central Bank Governor, who in turn protects them and they exchange services. This failure has prompted the French judiciary to take action."
Regarding the renewal of Salameh's term, Bassil explained: "We have clarified the matter several times, and the renewal for Salameh requires three elements that were not present. First, we do not have a two-thirds majority in the Cabinet, and the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister were not with us on the issue of non-renewal."
On the topic of the presidency, he believed that "based on what happened with Salameh, the most important thing is the reform project, and we cannot implement it with the same corrupt individuals who block reforms." He added: "In our view, consensus is the prevailing stance that governs the presidential entitlement, but it must be on a person who can lead us out of our crisis."
He concluded: "The issue is not about names, and the solution cannot be about imposing one person over another. Whoever governs alone without having a parliamentary majority or the required majority will fail. We are bound to consensus, but based on the person who can carry out structural reforms for public finance, the economy, institutions, and the banking sector."
