The Lebanese Forces (LF) party said in a statement on Wednesday that Gebran Bassil’s “opportunistic and personal policies” constantly put him in a position that impedes the state.
The statement came in reaction to Tuesday’s speech by the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), in which he attacked Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun and the parties that support the deferral of his retirement on January 10.
The LF considered that Bassil “inevitably clashes with parties that oppose the presence of armed militias outside the state apparatus, condemn violations of sovereignty, and confront clientelism in appointments.”
The LF party also denied the claim that it had been “pressured by one of the ambassadors to support the extension of the mandate of the head of the Army,” calling it a lie.
The party also clarified that it has made an exception to its refusal to legislate during a presidential vacancy due to exceptional circumstances where “the security of the country and its citizens” is at stake.
In addition, the FL party recalled that, in a war situation, the army commander remains at his post until the election of a new president, who then appoints a new commander. However, the statement said that Bassil “ignored” the critical factor of opening the front in southern Lebanon, as it is the work of “his political ally, the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.”
Bassil is the only person to oppose the retention of Joseph Aoun in his post for purely political considerations inherent in his own interests. He remains determined to lodge an appeal to overturn any decision to this effect taken by Parliament or the Council of Ministers.
