The President of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, began his conversation with the Kuwaiti "Al-Anbaa" by congratulating His Highness Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. He stated, "Kuwait is a sister country that has always stood by Lebanon during all its crises, from independence until today. We cherish that, and I wish His Highness the Amir of the country and the people of Kuwait all the best and lasting stability."
Geagea addressed sensitive issues through logic, history, and the constitution, calling for adherence to an electoral process for the presidency and acceptance of its outcomes, as occurred in the recent elections for the presidency of the parliament (when President Nabih Berri won in the first round with 65 votes, gathering half the votes plus one). Consequently, his deputy Elias Bou Saab was elected after a second round. "We did not vote for Berri or his deputy; we nominated another deputy for the vice presidency (Professor Doctor Ghassan Skaf), and we accepted the election results."
Geagea urged Hezbollah to "engage in the presidential elections with all its efforts and abide by democratic rules." As for the qualities of the upcoming president, Geagea defined them as "the candidate capable of winning, who has a minimum capacity to achieve the desired Lebanese republic." He spoke of a convergence with other references eight months ago regarding the candidacy of Jihad Azour and noted "the irreconcilable differences with the resistance axis." He stated, "They want a puppet president who relies on their policies and worldview, as has been the case for the past eight years. Meanwhile, we want a president who has an independent decision and character in a republican and constitutional direction, who prioritizes the interests of the republic over anything else." He concluded by saying about an agreement with the "resistance axis" regarding the presidency that "we have not reached an agreement and were unable to achieve that."
He revealed that the quintet committee "is trying, with good intentions, to reach a solution by securing the holding of presidential elections. Its members ask: How can Lebanon continue without a president?" He added, "They have not reached a result yet, and I hope they continue their mission and efforts to perhaps reach something acceptable, without violating the constitution or abandoning our convictions and principles."
Transiting to the Lebanese Forces' rejection of a dialogue headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, Geagea responded to the question by saying, "The question is mistaken. We do not reject real dialogue. Rather, we reject an official dialogue table chaired by the Speaker of the Parliament and we refuse to establish a precedent that contradicts the constitution." He provided examples regarding the elections of the presidency of the parliament and the designation of the prime minister, saying, "Did the president invite to a dialogue on these two issues? There is a constitutional mechanism that must be applied, and why should we place President Nabih Berri as a guardian over the presidential election? There is no provision in the Lebanese constitution that allows for that. On the other hand, the call for dialogue is not innocent, and they condition Berri presiding over the sessions, in a context to further entrench the resistance axis's control over everything in the country, and this we will not accept."
He continued: "We have adopted genuine and serious dialogue away from the media, with all parliamentary blocs, particularly with Berri's bloc. We will continue with the parties in effective serious dialogue that avoids the farce of the official dialogue table. On a third note, we ask: When was the resistance axis in favor of dialogue? Let us recall the experience of the martyred President Rafiq Hariri, who insisted on engaging with the axis and what his fate was. We arrive at the ongoing war in southern Lebanon, which has been waged by an armed group outside any Lebanese legitimacy. Wasn't the decision for war worth a dialogue? In summary, the resistance axis does not negotiate on the things it has its hands on and does not accept anyone's interference, limiting the call for dialogue to matters still under the authority of the constitution."
Regarding the breaking of the jar between the Lebanese Forces and President Berri, Geagea replied immediately: "No (he repeated it twice), it has not broken, as we have met with President Berri on some political, principled, and Lebanese aspects. However, we have not met regarding the presidency, as his perspective is not understood by me. I call on him to invite sessions to elect the president in successive rounds, away from folkloric sessions, where members of his parliamentary bloc leave the council chamber after the first round."
The main focus of the discussion with Dr. Geagea was the relationship with the Free Patriotic Movement. When asked if it is true that there is consensus between them on several issues such as Syrian displacement and the position on unity of frontlines, he immediately responded: "No, no, no. I am the most experienced with the FPM before it came to the public eye, dating back to General Michel Aoun's tenure as Army Commander (1984 - 1990). I say: do not believe anything the movement proposes. From General Aoun's call during the 'Liberation War' to 'break the head' of the late Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad, claiming that Syria wants to swallow Lebanon, to making the town of Barad in Syria the maronite hub under Bashar Al-Assad's presidency. They say one thing and do the opposite, as in 1989 when they rejected the presence of an armed organization ('Lebanese Forces') alongside the Lebanese Army in the midst of the civil war and waged a war of cancellation that claimed more than a thousand lives. In the midst of state formation, they accepted an illegal armed organization ('Hezbollah') and allied with it, defending it in international forums... The measure in the relationship with the FPM is the result of its actions, not the slogans it raises. Thus, there is no agreement on views, and we rely only on practical steps. We await and judge and note our convergence with them on the nomination of Jihad Azour, who was supposed to receive 63 to 64 votes in the session on June 14, 2023, exactly a year ago, but they did not grant him their full votes."
Regarding the reception of the President of the FPM, MP Gibran Bassil, in a tour he intends to start on Monday from President Berri, Geagea stated: "I wish him all the success... We want to know the content of the initiative."
About the "other team's" bet on Geagea abandoning the state project, and later yielding under pressure to quell his street's boiling anger, as he did during the murder of Pascal Suleiman by going down to the streets at night to calm things down, Geagea said: "No one should bet on this matter. We are committed to the state project, and no serious victory can be achieved except through politics to ensure a stable situation. Their bets have always been wrong regarding our abandonment of the state project, which will not happen..."
He also commented on his party's role and its transformation into the largest parliamentary bloc in Lebanon and among Christians, playing the role of the Christian and national incubator within what is known as the sovereignty line. Geagea said: "The Lebanese Forces are a national incubator. This was evident in the latest opposition meeting in Maarab, where everyone answered the call, while some were not invited." When asked about the "significant parliamentary presence of the Lebanese Forces on the political scene," Geagea replied: "Imagine the current political scene without the Forces. Where would the situation be? I answer that Suleiman Frangieh would have been elected president, and the resistance would have completely seized control of the country, and the situation would have deteriorated even more. We obtained an unambiguous popular mandate, meaning a vast parliamentary majority, and despite this, we are preventing bad outcomes. I give examples regarding the matter of illegal Syrian refugees and what we have managed to achieve with municipalities based on our popular weight, even though we are outside the official authority, and do not hold any position specific to us, whether security or otherwise... We deliver results in the files we address."
When criticized for leading the opposition, he stated: "I do not want to lead and do not desire anything in this regard; I am content with my current position. National issues were raised at the opposition meeting, and a clear testament of our success is the reaction of the resistance axis and the campaign it launched against the meeting."
Geagea addressed the new generation, saying: "I appreciate the difficult circumstances they are going through, and perhaps some, unlike our generation, study by candlelight in the absence of electricity, and also face extremely difficult social and economic conditions. Our bet is on sticking to the country, for the nation is not a hotel where we seek another hotel when services decline. My call to the new generation is to cling to Lebanon. I emphasize joining political parties, despite the presence of bad parties, as without parties it is impossible to achieve advanced results in terms of enacting change, and the concept of parties in all countries is essential."
