The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Jibran Basil, stated that "we all worked all night on Sunday and all day on Monday to try to rescue Pascal Suleiman and spare the country from strife, which is our duty, in addition to what we heard from our FPM colleagues about Pascal and his good qualities, and the sense of internal strife we felt. I followed up with the concerned agencies minute by minute and perceived their great concern. In the end, it is their responsibility to transparently reveal all the results of the investigation, as it is the right of his family, his party, and all Lebanese to know the truth and motives behind the crime and its causes."
He emphasized that "it is everyone's right to doubt whether the motives might be political or not, and it is not merely a coincidence of car theft by a car theft gang, as this has been proven to date, and here lies the duty and responsibility of the Lebanese army, and subsequently the Lebanese judiciary, to uncover the crime and punish those who committed it, and the responsibility of the army and security forces is to impose security in the country."
In a speech following a meeting of the Political Council of the FPM, he stressed that "self-security should not be taken lightly and applied as long as we still have official security institutions beginning with the army performing their duties and capable of providing protection and reassurance. Self-security is not only a return to militias, but it opens the door for gangs in every city, town, and street, and it is a security breakdown that will harm every Lebanese citizen who only wants the state."
Basil also noted that "the security threat from the displacement does not mean seeking revenge morally or physically against the Syrian refugees, as this would generate considerable strife in Lebanon between the Lebanese and Syrians, in addition to damaging our relationship with a neighboring and friendly people with whom we can build a good future."
He affirmed that "the solution is in pressuring and taking concrete action to return the Syrians to their country, 'action and work, not just talk,' and the murder of Pascal Suleiman serves as a lesson, if not a warning, because it is much greater... it is a lesson for all who advocated for the entry of Syrians without any restrictions, for everyone who signed a petition against me and the movement, and for all who declared and attacked us... all this exists in the archives, videos, and social media, and there is no benefit in evasion."
