Member of the "Strong Republic" bloc, MP George Akees, held the state responsible for any harm that befalls any official in the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, as well as anyone who supports them, following the threat made by Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in his speech yesterday. He stated via "Lebanon Free": "As much as we criticize the weakness of the state, this state is ours and it is the enemy of the mini-state, and no matter how decayed it is, this land is ours and we will not abandon it."
He added: "We have not accused anyone by name; it is true that we do not have full confidence in the state's agencies, but what is required is to disclose all information related to the crime. We refuse to dilute it and demand the revelation of the details and circumstances. He reaffirmed that the Lebanese Forces did not specifically accuse Hezbollah but rather the system of security chaos, stating, 'It is our right to accuse, and it is the duty of the state to prove otherwise.'"
In response to some accusations against the youth of the Forces, Akees said: "Since the night of Pascal Sleiman's abduction, the youth of the Lebanese Forces have been on the ground without any heavy weaponry with any of these groups." He noted that "we have not received any official narrative regarding the circumstances of the crime, and the public prosecutor's offices are responsible for issuing the details of what happened with Pascal." He added that in the case of the martyr Elias Al-Hosroni, senior officials told them that they could not proceed with the investigations for political reasons.
When asked about fears of assassinations targeting the Forces' MPs, Akees replied: "If only we could be in a wicked mind to know how and where they would carry out operations to know how to protect ourselves." Akees emphasized that "our opponent in this country decides whether to give us life or death; the battle has become difficult, but when we listen to Pascal's wife, we understand the lesson from this life, through faith, struggle, and perseverance."
