The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, emphasized during his speech at the annual dinner of the Koura District Authority the necessity of continuing forensic auditing. He stated, "We see what is happening in the judiciary; instead of holding corrupt judges accountable, they are opting to resign. We will not only pursue the corrupt but also the judges who protect them." Bassil added, "There are those who care for us, and I don't know how much travel tickets and hotel reservations cost, but I believe that the Lebanese people's money deserves a number of travel tickets and a number of nights in hotels to try to recover the funds of the Lebanese by seizing state properties when the state and the Lebanese judiciary fail to act on this matter."
He continued, "There is a renewed responsibility on the new Central Bank governance to complete the forensic audit and to provide the previous data that the former governor failed to present. Thus, the audit can be completed, as the Lebanese state did not pay two million dollars for an incomplete preliminary report." He pointed out, "Now, the data should be handed over and the final report should be issued in full, and then we will see after 'in real-time' or 'optimal,' and we do not know what will come next."
Bassil stressed the need for legal actions to continue, whether or not there is a president, and that the two should not be linked. He added, "We should not be threatened every time we act against the corrupt that we will ruin reconciliation and the atmosphere of calm in the country. Our condition for the French to participate in the dialogue is that by its conclusion, regardless of the outcome, there will either be an agreement solidified in a parliamentary session to elect a president, or if there is no agreement, then we accept democratic competition in consecutive sessions to elect a president." He noted that they had been promised this, and he found what was said by Speaker Nabih Berri to be good and positive, stating, "If that is the case, we will have a president by September."
Bassil addressed the issue of financial collapse, asserting that it occurred due to a "corruption" system, while the existential collapse is happening due to displacement that displaces the Syrian people from their land to another people's land in Lebanon. This leads to uprooting the Lebanese people from their land, scattering them across the globe, and driving our country to face the danger of extinction.
He explained that "the primary cause of the displacement that happened in the world in 2011 was due to war. Back then, we warned that part of the displacement was security-related and another part was economic. Today, the cause of displacement is the economic blockade on Syria, and any displaced person coming from Syria is solely an economic refugee." He added, "Back then, we requested this, and they considered us racist. If we demand this today, does anyone dare to call us racist?"
He viewed it as "sad that the conspiracy comes from the international community and from UN organizations that are supposed to protect us, but there are collaborators from within who are delighted with what is happening in Syria and do not think about the consequences for the Syrian people and the negative impacts on the Lebanese people."
Bassil perceived that "we are facing the danger of flooding Lebanon with a new wave of organized displacement," considering that "the unfortunate thing is the silence of the government and the security agencies standing by under the pretext of not having enough security personnel to close the land borders. The question is: How is there enough security personnel to close the sea? Furthermore, it has become part of the duties of some security agencies to make decisions to repatriate displaced persons from Europe to Lebanon instead of insisting on returning them to Syria." He summarized by saying, "There are no security personnel to control the land, but there are security personnel to control the sea."
He affirmed that "Lebanon is receiving displaced persons from Syria and Europe because the government and some security agencies are acting either out of fear or 'in collusion' with a foreign agenda serving either material or political interests, and in both cases, it is about personal interests and executing a Western plan to settle the displaced persons."
Bassil raised his voice, warning of a second wave of Syrian displacement that has begun in Lebanon, noting that the more the blockade on Syria intensifies, the higher the number of displaced persons to Lebanon. "Yesterday, they threatened to close the Syrian border towards Iraq. Our goal is neither the axis nor weapons, but not to 'suffocate' the Syrian people because they will pay the price by leaving their land, and we too will pay the price and leave our land." He stressed the "need to completely close the borders to Syrians because a displaced person entering clandestinely into any country has the right to be returned to their land."
Bassil advised the officials not to follow Israel's demand, which seeks to solve issues concerning the borderline. There is no reason for either timing or the absence of a president of the republic to act on the matter. He addressed Hezbollah, saying, "At the very least, this issue should be at this level, and its price should be the dismantling of the international political frameworks that dictate the settlement of displaced persons and refugees in Lebanon."
