Presently on a visit to Australia, the president of the Independence Movement Michel Moawad attended the annual dinner organized in his honor by the movement’s branch in Melbourne.
Speaking at the event, Moawad said: “Lebanon stands today at a very dangerous crossroad. Either we allow ourselves to get drawn into the regional conflicts, and that will only lead to Lebanon’s destruction, or we strengthen our unity and get back to respecting the Lebanese State’s sole authority and our national unity’s principles.
We, in the Independence Movement, believe in this second option, which today entails bringing renewed life to the ‘presidential compromise deal’. Internally, this translates into abiding by the Lebanese State’s authority. Externally, it means to preserve Lebanon’s neutrality towards regional conflicts. This presently necessitates that Hezbollah ‘returns to Lebanon’ and respects the Lebanese State, the Constitution and the foundations of the national partnership.”
“National unity is a requisite to PM Saad Hariri’s safe return to Lebanon, which I hope will be take place in the coming days. But, at the same time, there should be a unified national position on Hezbollah’s voluntary withdrawal from foreign involvements. and its return under the Lebanese State’s and the Lebanese Constitution’s umbrellas.
The main priority concern today is to come out of the national impasse we are facing. If we don’t succeed in this now, and remain influenced and divided by the regional conflicts, then, at one point, it won’t even be possible anymore to fix things.”
President Rene Moawad
Moawad asked: “Why was President Rene Moawad assassinated? And who assassinated him? The answer to these two questions is found in the presidential address he gave to all the Lebanese on the eve of his martyrdom. I am recalling President Moawad’s Independence speech today to emphasize that we have not entered politics looking for personal benefits or positions. Had President Moawad accepted to compromise on his principles in order to keep his position of power, he would have ruled for 6 years, and his Mandate would have also been extended. He would have become part, like others, in the corruption game and would have built palaces. He had a choice to make between Power and personal wealth, or defending Lebanon by sticking to the principles he believed in. He chose to defend Lebanon and therefore, sacrificed his life. He was assassinated because he refused to compromise on sovereignty, and refused that a Lebanese government gets formed outside the Lebanese territories.
After his death, we were politically isolated, and in 2009, we were made to lose the Parliamentary Elections, because we again refused to compromise on the principles for which Rene Moawad was martyred. This was a sacrifice we had to make, just like the sacrifice we later made of selling some of our family estate properties and avoid becoming part of the public corruption quagmire and robberies. But, by doing so, we protected our free, sovereign and independent voice.”
Reviving the Presidential Compromise
“Lebanon is going through a major crisis that is jeopardizing its social, political and economic security, and even its own existence. It is one of the most serious crises that modern Lebanon has ever faced. I don’t wish to discuss now the timing, the circumstances, and the way in which PM Saad Hariri presented his resignation. Let us wait for matters to get cleared out in the coming days. But of course, as a Lebanese citizen, I would have wished that the resignation of the Prime Minister of Lebanon takes place in Lebanon, not in a foreign country. I also strongly wish that the needed political and security conditions that would permit PM Hariri to return to Lebanon materialize soon, regardless of the circumstances and of the surprise elements in the resignation. But I also have to say that, in a way, the resignation was to be expected given the recent political developments. Let me explain my point: One year ago, a political compromise was reached in Lebanon, as the Taef Agreement was dangerously at stake and we were getting closer to a constitutional convention to shape the future of our country.
The compromise was based on two foundations. The internal foundation was that, despite our differences, we all return to a political life based on bringing back life to the public institutions. This led to the election of a President of the Republic, the forming of a coalition cabinet, issuing a new Elections Law, and approving a new budget… The compromise led to an alliance between the strongest representatives of each confession. The strongest Christian representative was the result of what was known as the ‘Christian Agreement’; the strongest Sunnite being the Future Movement, the strongest Shiite the alliance between the two main Shiite parties, and the strongest Druze, MP Walid Joumblatt.
The second foundation for the compromise was to preserve Lebanon’s neutrality in regard to the regional conflicts. But unfortunately this was broken as Hezbollah started to gradually ignore this principle by pushing Lebanon towards the regional ‘Axis of Resistance’, and even make it a platform to challenge the surrounding Arab countries.”
Moawad added: “A year ago, we were requesting Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria and head back to Lebanon. Today, we say the same, but request his withdrawal not only from Syria, but also from Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bulgaria, Argentina, Brazil and other places. Hezbollah has even helped the Houthis launch a ballistic missile towards Riyadh!
How would it stay possible to preserve Lebanon’s neutrality and keep it away from the regional axes in conflict, if a Lebanese component, part of the Lebanese population and represented at the Cabinet and the Parliament, uses Lebanon as a platform to attack the sovereignty and the security of other countries? Lebanon’s particularities were an element that was regionally and internationally taken into consideration for a long time. But Saad Hariri’s recent resignation is giving a clear message that the countries that feel aggressed by a Lebanese component won’t accept to abide by this consideration anymore. These countries are telling us today, ‘If you threaten our security and sovereignty, we will consider Lebanon as an enemy’. Therefore, we are now at a crossroad: Either we remain entangled by our internal differences and slide more into the trap of regional conflicts and divisions, which will lead to the destruction of our nation, our security and our economy, or we re-strengthen our internal unity, regroup around the Lebanese State and its institutions, and our national unity…
In this context, let us also keep in mind that 500,000 Lebanese citizens live in Gulf countries, yearly flushing more than 3 Billion USD into the Lebanese economy, out of the 7/8 Billion USD that come from the Lebanese diaspora. The Lebanese living abroad represent a major source of income for the Tourism sector, and offer support in various ways to the Lebanese State.
Our preferred choice is that we all re-unite under national unity, and re-strengthen the ‘presidential compromise’ both internally and externally, notably by having Lebanon reposition itself in a neutral position regarding regional conflicts. Foremost, neutrality requires that Hezbollah voluntarily withdraws from Syria and other places, and accepts to respect the constitution, the State’s sole authority, the Government, and the national partnership between all of Lebanon’s components.
Only national unity would allow PM Saad Hariri’s safe return to Lebanon. I strongly hope that this matter gets cleared out in the coming days. But our first priority today is to move out of the national crisis that we are facing. Otherwise, if we remain internally affected and divided by the regional conflicts, we could reach the state where it won’t be possible anymore to mend things.
Moawad continued: “we have to admit that there is today a core problem. President Moawad’s words that I shared with you are 28 years-old, but it seems as if he was speaking just yesterday. Till when will Lebanon keep jumping from hurdle to hurdle, moving from crisis to crisis, gamble to gamble, adventure to adventure and problem to problem? Isn’t it our foremost duty as Lebanese and Australians from Lebanese origins to seek a fundamental solution to Lebanon’s core problems? For this to happen, three elements are required.
Sovereignty, a Balanced Partnership and Fighting Corruption
The first element is Sovereignty. Since 1969, organized armed troops working outside of the Lebanese State’s control have caused a fundamental problem in Lebanon. It started with the Palestinian military organizations, then came the war-time militias, followed by the Syrian Army, and today we have Hezbollah’s armed forces. Our answer to those who claim that Hezbollah’s arms protect us is that only the Lebanese Army can truly protect us’.
The second element is to have a balanced partnership amongst the various Lebanese components. In fact, the stability of the country is affected whenever an essential component is marginalized or demoted.
The marginalization that the Shiite community in Lebanon endured in the 1960ies, the 1970ies and the 1980ies led to what we are paying for today. If this marginalization hadn’t existed, no one would have been able to exploit it today.
In a very similar manner, after President Moawad’s assassination and the Syrian occupation that followed, the Taef Agreement’s balanced partnership that President Moawad had carried was broken, and the Christian community felt a prejudice against it. This is why I have supported and I am still supporting the Christian Reconciliation Agreement which helped reach the Presidential Agreement leading to the election of President Aoun, a ‘strong’ Christian President. This has brought back equilibrium to the national partnership, and re-established stability and balance.
“The third element is fighting corruption. In fact, the level of corruption that we have reached today goes deeper than the material aspect of corruption. It has reached the level of corruption in values. According to a study done by the World Bank on corruption-free countries, Lebanon ranked 138 out of 150. The concluding report in the study stated that more than 37% of the State’s budget goes on squandering and corruption; this means that around 2 Billion USD are being added to the public debt every year! It is clear that we cannot continue like this… Lebanon’s financial problems are not the lack of energy resources or insufficient funds. It is the abundance of ‘public thieves’!
Together
Together we will fight the battles of restoring sovereignty, protecting a balanced partnership, fighting corruption and bringing in reforms. It is going to be a long and tough battle. But compared to the priceless sacrifices that our martyrs have offered to safeguard our country, any sacrifice that we will make is minimal.
He added: “It is you who will initiate the desired change in Lebanon. Change has to start at the Parliament’s level, and this is in your hands. I ask you to participate in big numbers in the coming Parliamentary Elections. Don’t vote for individuals. Vote for Lebanon. Vote for Lebanon’s sovereignty. Vote for reforms and the fighting of corruption. This is your right and your duty.”
Moawad concluded: “Sometimes elections are viewed as a mere battle for political gains or a confrontation between leaderships. I tell you: Living in Australia, you learned the meaning of citizenship. Therefore, don’t vote based on instincts. Vote based on citizenship, just like you do in Australia. Don’t vote for political leaders. Vote for choices. Today, you, the Lebanese diaspora represent consciousness for the Lebanese at home, because you don’t need the ‘wasta’ and ‘services’ that the traditional politicians provide. You don’t need them to get a parent admitted to the hospital, or to get the road in your town asphalted. You don’t need a local leader to help you get a job.
What you and all of us need is a nation, a national identity.”
“Together we have won last year the battle of giving you the right to vote from abroad. Your duty now is to move to the next step and get yourselves registered before November 20, in order to become eligible to participate in the coming elections. The registration is simple. It can be done through the internet through the website of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Doesn’t Lebanon deserve that you dedicate a few minutes and get registered?”
The event
The event had taken place at the hall adjacent to the Our Lady of Lebanon church in Melbourne. It was attended by a large crowd of members from the Lebanese community in Australia. Amongst the dignitaries present were: The Minister for Municipalities and Consumer Affairs in the State of Victoria, Marlene Keyrouz; the assigned Lebanese ambassador to Pakistan, Ghassan Khatib; the member of the Victorian Legislative Council, Nazih El Asmar; the pastor of the Our Lady of Lebanon Church, father Alain Fares; the regional head of the Cultural University, Michel Doueihy, who was accompanied by the heads of the university’s branches in Melbourne; in addition to representatives from the ‘Tayyar Movement’, the ‘Lebanese Forces’, ‘Al Kataeb’, ‘Al Ahrar’, the ‘Future Movement’, the ‘Progressive Socialist Party’ and the ‘Democratic Left Movement’.
Were also present the responsible of the diaspora at the Independence Movement, Antoine Ibrahim; the Australia coordinator, Assad Barakat, the Sydney coordinator, Saiid Doueihy; the Melbourne coordinator, Georges Moawad and his vice-coordinator Milad Jreij; the president of the Commerce & Industry Chamber in Victoria, lawyer Fadi Al Zawki; the president of the Australian-Arab commercial council, Roland Jabbour; heads of associations and institutions, and representatives from the media.
During the event, Ambassador Ghassan Al Khatib received an honorary shield from Michel Moawad. It was a token of appreciation for his services to the Lebanese community in Melbourne as the head of the Lebanese consulate in the city for the last 5 years. In a brief speech, the Independence Movement’s Melbourne coordinator, Georges Moawad spoke about the national values that the Movement is built on, which are the principles for which President Rene Moawad fought and was martyred. He explained that President Moawad is from the Chehabist political tradition, which believed in balance, national partnership and the respect of the Constitution, and presented the various activities that the Independence Movement is undertaking at the national, social and development levels.
العربية