Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, expressed his deepest sympathy for the southern Lebanese, particularly the residents of the border villages, "who have not known sleep or a moment of peace for ten months now, unless they have lost a martyr." He summarized their lives as "hell." Geagea questioned the reasoning behind this suffering and what justifies it, inquiring about the necessities of Lebanese national security that have led the country to this reality. His remarks came during the annual dinner of the Higher Metn Coordinating Committee of the Lebanese Forces Party, held at the party's headquarters in Maarab, in the presence of MP Pierre Bou Assi, President of the Higher Metn Municipal Union Karim Sarkis, President of the Maronite Council Michel Matta, members of the Maronite League, Secretary General Emile Makrzel, Advisor to the President of the Lebanese Forces for Internal Affairs Joseph Abu Joudeh and his spouse, former Assistant Secretary for Interests Nabil Abu Joudeh, founder of the "Dialogue House" Bashara Khairallah, head of the party's dental doctors’ department Antoine Kfoury, regional coordinator Marie Abi Nader, several mayors and mukhtars, and a gathering of members of the Central Council of the Lebanese Forces and Metn social figures.
Geagea asked: "What are the necessities of Lebanese national security that have driven us to this reality? The officials of the resistance come to us daily with speeches from here and there justifying what is happening by a necessity related to national security, and I do not know if anyone 'has the guts to listen to them.'” He continued: "Doesn't Egypt also have national security necessities like those related to Lebanese national security that they speak of, despite Egypt being a republic of 110 million people sharing a border with Gaza specifically? Does Jordan not have similar necessities as well? Let us leave Egypt and Jordan and come to Syria, which they consider the star of the 'resistance axis,' although it is a star without a sparkle; even Syria does not have national security necessities that pushed it into war like those that some have created here in Lebanon to drag the entire country into war, to this moment I still do not know what justifications they have."
Geagea emphasized that all the suffering that the people of the south are experiencing today is related to Iranian national security, pointing out that the current war will end with catastrophic results for Lebanon. He noted that if it were to stop today—which is unlikely since escalation is the prevailing situation—this war has already claimed more than 500 martyrs and caused between two to three billion dollars in economic losses in the south, along with three to four billion dollars in losses to the Lebanese economy. He asserted that those responsible for initiating military operations in southern Lebanon bear full responsibility for these losses.
As for the solution, Geagea saw it as clear and simple, consisting of the Lebanese army deploying along the southern border and taking the responsibility to defend it. He rejected theories that promote the incapacity of the Lebanese army, affirming that countries worldwide call for the implementation of Resolution 1701 to resolve the problem in the south, while Lebanese officials vacillate and provide no clear answers to the proposals.
Regarding the crime of the Beirut Port explosion, Geagea pointed out that, despite it resulting in nearly 230 martyrs, thousands of injured, tens of thousands of victims, and billions of dollars in losses, its greatest harm is to the Lebanese societal psyche, which has been deeply affected. He expressed his discontent over the "resistance axis" obstructing investigations into this crime, affirming that the Lebanese Forces Party will not forget this crime and will continue to pursue justice no matter how long it takes. He stated: "No matter how long it takes, we are now in the fourth anniversary, and it may pass an additional year, two, three, ten, or fifty years; we will not forget the Beirut Port explosion and will not abandon this case. We will continue our efforts using all the available legal means until all those responsible for this crime are held accountable."
He clarified that the Lebanese Forces has worked over the past four years in international forums to push for the establishment of an international fact-finding committee for the port explosion, affirming that while the work is difficult, the party continues to demand the establishment of this committee. He indicated that some countries do not wish to confront Iran, which is why they have not agreed to form the committee, but the "Forces" have felt some positive changes in this regard recently.
Geagea called on the Lebanese Minister of Justice and the Lebanese government to fulfill their responsibilities to ensure the proper functioning of justice and to advance the investigations into the port explosion. He suggested that the Minister of Justice convene the Supreme Judicial Council for a meeting to prioritize the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion on the agenda, where the minister would urge the council to remove various obstacles to the investigations within a short timeframe, under the threat of holding them responsible for obstructing the investigations, pointing out that the political authority is responsible for the proper functioning of justice although the principle of separation of powers is applied in Lebanon. He said, "Unfortunately, after the amount of lies and deception committed by the other side, no one can know where the truth lies. Sometimes people believe that some matters are impossible to achieve because there seems to be no way to accomplish them, while solutions are very easy. The political authority is ultimately responsible for everything; true, it is not responsible for issuing judgments, but it is responsible for the proper functioning of justice, and thus it can intervene now to stop obstruction and remove the obstacles in front of the investigative judge, whom it appointed, so that he can continue his investigations, which have reached their conclusions according to what is being circulated, to issue the indictment that is sent to the Higher Council for trials to commence."
Geagea stressed that the simplest belief and least is that this step should be taken now, saying: "Let the Minister of Justice and the government carry out their duties, but 'to whom do you read your psalms, O David,’ the obstructer is the 'resistance axis' while this government is a 'resistance government.' And those who formed this government are President Michel Aoun, who asks his group and they reiterate daily that they want justice, while those who want justice do not form a government from the 'resistance axis’ known to be 'Anti-justice' by primary definition."
He clarified that he said all this because we must "begin to point to the problem with a finger, for the greatest crime committed against Lebanon and the Lebanese is the 'fatal generalization.'” He stated: "Some in the press, as well as some activists, when they want to accuse a certain party of a particular issue, use expressions like 'the politicians' and 'the political class,' while they should say who specifically, by name, who obstructed this issue and who committed that crime, because with generalizations there is no actual guilty person who can be pursued, and only the true perpetrator benefits from this issue, as the 'fatal generalization' obscures accountability for his act and allows him to continue without any oversight or accountability."
