Kataeb Leader Samy Gemayel said that “the threat is always present; its intensity sometimes diminishes and at other times escalates”.
“We aspire to live in a country where there is a sovereign state, where citizens are equal in rights and duties. We desire a stable nation where freedom prevails, living under the umbrella of law and constitution,” Gemayel said in an interview with LBCI.
He considered that the primary prerequisite for the establishment of a state is to have defined borders and an authority that monopolizes the use of force before tackling other issues.
“The basic components of the country do not exist, and our problem is primarily with Hezbollah. It must decide whether it wants to be a partner or continue with the logic of hegemony and unilateral decision-making,” he emphasized.
“We reject the logic of violence and war. The fundamental problem is that Hezbollah adopts an exclusionary approach toward anyone who disagrees with its politics,” he added.
“When Al-Manar TV and Al-Akhbar newspape
r claim responsibility for the campaign launched against me, does that automatically implicate Israeli involvement?” he asked.
“The coup process in the country is cumulative and began with the election of Michel Aoun, putting the representatives before the choice of surrender or presidential vacuum. Hezbollah operates with a coup-like mentality in all its actions,” he indicated.
“Since May 7th, the Free Patriotic Movement has also participated in the coup by aligning itself with Hezbollah’s coup,” he affirmed.
“When the Free Patriotic Movement aligns itself with Hezbollah’s policies and when Mikati accepts to be the Prime Minister of Hezbollah’s government, this signifies compliance with the coup,” he went on saying.
“When Mikati says that he does not have a say in what happens in the south, this means accepting the conditions of the coup and that he does not bear the primary constitutional responsibility in the absence of president,” he noted.
“In my estimation, there is no war in Lebanon on a large sca
le, and its probability is small, as both parties have an interest in reaching an agreement, and this is one of the tasks of Amos Hochstein,” he stated.
“We neither reject nor refuse partnership, but we reject the imposition of Hezbollah’s logic on all Lebanese citizens,” he indicated.
“If there is a serious will of Hezbollah to open a new page, there must be a national conference for frankness and purification of memory based on the rules of recognition of the other, freedom and equality. If Hezbollah wants to develop the system currently based on a Christian-Sunni duality, the decision must be liberalized first and we must all be under the law,” he said.
“We must distinguish between Hezbollah’s role in the south and its coup-like political behavior. On October 8th, it announced the opening of a supportive front to alleviate pressure on Gaza, thereby initiating the opening of the front rather than responding to aggression,” Gemayel pointed out.
“Has Hezbollah benefited Gaza? Has anyone observed a decreas
e in the scenes of destruction in Gaza since Hezbollah entered the war? If the situation hasn’t improved, it means Hezbollah’s involvement in the war hasn’t helped,” he affirmed.
“The problem is that Hezbollah continues to address us with hypothetical scenarios, just as when it claimed that fighting ISIS in Syria prevented that organization from reaching Jounieh,” he added.
“We believe that no party should possess weapons, and militias should hand over their arms to the state,” he stressed.
“We must be prepared for the worst scenario, which is similar to what we saw in the 1990s with the Syrians’ control over Lebanon,” he went on saying.
“In exchange for May 25th, there should be April 26th, a day to commemorate the martyrs of the resistance and all martyrs,” Gemayel noted.
“As soon as a person dies on the soil of Lebanon in a strange way, he is a martyr, and I am not ready to live with a party that cannot recognize our martyrs. Every human being who was martyred and fought in defense with a strange face
inside is a martyr, even though I do not agree with the ideology and how we were dragged into war, which is a religious logic,” he explained.
“Neither Hezbollah nor Iran nor Israel have an interest in an open war in Lebanon. Therefore, Hezbollah does not act based on what is happening in Gaza, but rather based on Iran’s interests,” he asserted.
“If Hezbollah continues with the same logic, then either we succumb or we refuse,” Gemayel stressed.
“Israel does not want to open two fronts, as evidenced by its actions and statements. Similarly, Hezbollah does not want to jeopardize its political and military apparatus,” he stressed.
“Hezbollah wants a president from its team, legislating its weapons by law and constitution, and installing a system in the judiciary and security. Hezbollah’s goal is to legislate what it has achieved in the country, and it will complete and consolidate its control. The next stage is to legislate what it has achieved,” he added.
“I have full confidence in the Lebanese Army, and in
ternational support for the Army is the most important and powerful weapon against Israel; when the army deploys in the South, the whole world will be on our side,” he pointed out.
“The issue of Syrian displacement is a matter of consensus among the Lebanese, but the problem is that Bashar al-Assad does not want the return of Syrians. Today, there is a ceasefire in Syria and no fighting, and the displaced have become economic migrants,” he explained.
“The normalization with Syria has exceeded the Lebanese state, and nothing prevents the displaced from returning to Syria. However, the international community must pressure Assad to repatriate them. There is a region not under regime control ready to receive the displaced, controlling 30% of Syrian territory. Let’s start repatriating refugees from those areas,” he said.
Regarding the return of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Lebanon, Gemayel clarified that there is no communication with him, and he hopes he returns like all Lebanese to Lebanon.
“We will
decide our stance toward him based on his positions when he returns,” he stated.
Regarding the 2024 budget, the Kataeb Leader pointed out that the problem lies in the fact that the budget is merely arithmetic without an economic vision and a purpose, while half of the Lebanese are outside the legitimate economy, facing multiple exchange rates and unresolved deposits.
He emphasized that the goal of any budget should be to broaden the tax base to avoid burdening taxes on the same people who are already paying, while they remain under the law.
“A great disaster has occurred; there must be a comprehensive plan. I support a comprehensive project that results in a budget and draft laws. I am in favor of a comprehensive plan on how to restore deposits,” he said.
He considered that the responsibility lies with the Central Bank of Lebanon, its policies, Lebanese banks, and successive governments.
“Complete deposit restoration is not realistic, and I support holding them accountable and accessing the accounts of t
he Central Bank and banks to determine the amount of money that can be returned. Bank owners must bear part of the responsibility,” he affirmed.
“Federalism and decentralization are solutions for managing people who want to live together, not solutions for those who seek imposition,” he affirmed.
Gemayel considered Federalism as a governance mechanism that presupposes equality and adheres to the logic of the state.
“In 2030, Lebanon will not be like ‘Lebanon of today’. ‘Lebanon of Tomorrow’ will not resemble ‘Lebanon of today’. I aspire for the new Lebanon to be the Lebanon we dream of, a Lebanon of progress, where all Lebanese are equal in a modernized 10,452 square kilometers,” Gemayel concluded.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon