Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea welcomed Friday evening’s parliamentary vote on a bill to delay by one year the retirement of Army Commander-in-Chief Joseph Aoun, Director General of the Internal Security Forces Imad Osman (who holds the rank of Major General and is due to retire in May) and the Acting Director of General Security Elias Baissari.
“We dodged a bullet,” Geagea declared, thanking the members of his bloc, those of the opposition and all those who worked towards this “achievement.” This law, he insisted, “aims to protect the military institution.” In this respect, Geagea recalled that the LF bloc remains “opposed to legislating in the absence of a president,” but that it acted accordingly to preserve the “stability” and “durability” of the military institution, the only public institution still standing.
“In Lebanon, some people think they are the center of the world, believing that any development is directed against them or in their favor,” Geagea continued, in a thinly veiled reference to leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Gebran Bassil who strongly opposed the extension of Joseph Aoun’s term of office. “Our action was in the interests of the country,” Geagea insisted.
“This time, the head of the legislature, Nabih Berri, has taken action in the right direction, even though he imposed 18 items of legislation on us that could have been approved later,” Geagea observed. “If he wants to maintain his good deed, let him call the House to a parliamentary session devoted to the election of a president,” he continued. The last parliamentary session devoted to this issue was held on June 14.
‘A Victory for the Nation’
The vote on the bill was also welcomed in Sovereignist circles, who considered it a “victory for the nation.”
Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel considered that Lebanon was saved “at the last moment.” “We attended the session to avoid a vacancy at the head of the military institution and to preserve national security,” he declared.
For LF MP Georges Adwan, “This battle was not fought by the LF alone but by all opposition forces, in order to preserve the whole of Lebanon.”
MP Michel Moawad declared that today “we saved Lebanon from the worst, and from rampant chaos.” “Based on our responsibilities and understanding of what Lebanon means without an army, and the situation we have reached today of a gradual breakdown of the state, we were on the verge of the Army being without a head,” he said.
MP Michel Daher asserted that, in this situation, “there are no winners or losers.” “This is a victory for the nation,” for “truth” and for “the Army.”
Moreover, just before proposing the law for a vote, House Speaker Nabih Berri declared that “all Lebanese, without exception, stand by the Lebanese Army, and no one prevails over the other.” Given the threat of a vacancy at the head of the Army, “Parliament can only assume its role,” he continued.
Furthermore, the deputies were quick to point out that extending the mandate of the head of the Army is just an extraordinary measure that had to be taken due to the impossibility of making security appointments in the absence of a head of State. Several deputies, including Hadi Abou el-Hosn and Waddah Sadek, then reiterated the need to elect a president as soon as possible, as this is a supreme priority.
