The president of the Independence Movement, Michel Moawad, stated that he did not ‘move to the lap’ of the Free Patriotic Movement, but rather made an alliance with the movement. He noted that the reconciliation he made with General Michel Aoun was not based on any political or electoral motivations, and that President René Moawad would have been proud of that reconciliation as it comes as a continuation to what he had tried to reach before his martyrdom. “Back then,” he said, “President Moawad wanted that the reconciliation includes everyone, even those who wanted to exclude themselves.”
Moawad’s words came in the last episode of LBCI’s talk show ‘Kalam Ennas’. About President Moawad, he added: “Upon his assassination we held General Aoun politically responsible, as had he opened the door to President Moawad to come to the Baabda Presidential Palace, the assassination probably wouldn’t have taken place. I did the reconciliation with General Aoun in 2013, at a time when there was no possibility for any political coordination between us. Later, General Aoun sent someone to represent him for President Moawad’s requiem mass in November of that year.”
The Alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement
He explained: “It was not in 2009 that I made an alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement. Had I done it back then, I understand that it could be said that I betrayed my political convictions and principles related to sovereignty, as the country was then divided between March 8 and March 14. But that doesn’t apply today, as since 2009, a lot of political and electoral changes took place, breaking all mainstream political alignments.”
He asked: “Didn’t the Lebanese Forces hold negotiations with the Free Patriotic Movement? An alliance between the two didn’t materialize due to ‘technical reasons’, as minister Riachy put it. Did the Lebanese Forces refuse to negotiate with the FPM about making an alliance?”
He further explained: “After the 2009 elections, Saad Hariri announced that everyone was under the ‘one Lebanese sky’. It was the period of ‘S-S’ (The Syria-Saudi Arabia understanding), and part of a general deal and compromise, Zgharta was offered to Suleiman Frangieh… Later, in 2011, Bkerke organized the quadripartite Christian meeting between the 4 main Christian political leaders.
After the 2009 elections too, the Tammam Salam Cabinet was formed, with the participation of Saad Hariri and the Hezbollah, but not the Lebanese Forces. And after the 2009 elections, came Suleiman Frangieh’s candidature for the Presidency, followed by the Meerab agreement, which we supported, and Geagea’s backing of General Aoun’s candidature. All this broke the mainstream political alignments, and created a new political reality in which political action is based on a variety of principles. Some of these are connected to Sovereignty, some connected to Partnership and reinstating balance to this partnership, and some to fighting corruption.
“In addition to all of that, came the new Elections law which forced unusual alliances, unique to each party, and often contradictory between a constituency and another.
The Three Points in the Understanding with the FPM
“I never left or changed my political position and beliefs, in which sovereignty plays the central role. The understanding with the FPM is based on 3 points:
“First: Building on what is common while mutually respecting each other’s particularities, position and political choices. The main point of disagreement is related to arms outside the State’s control. Our point of view is that any arms outside the State’s control, is illegitimate; only the official State has the right to hold arms. We stick to what is stated in the Taëf Agreement and to bringing back balance to the National partnership. It is based on that that we backed the Meerab agreement and the election of General Aoun. We have fought corruption through actions, not just words. Our slogans asking for reforms are not just carefully chosen words or electoral slogans. We also have never misused public funds. To stay away from the corruption system, we sold some of our family’s lands.
“The second point in the understanding is supporting the Presidential Mandate. We see this as an essential condition for supporting the ideal of ‘State’. We backed the Meerab reconciliation and the Presidential Mandate from the very beginning. Yes, there are some differences of approaches between us and the Presidency, but, I ask: ‘Is today’s opposition, an opposition based on Sovereignty?’ If that what the case, we could be accused of changing our beliefs and stands. But it is not so. And I ask: ‘Is the opposition based on Reform demands?’
“Weakening the Presidential Mandate neither leads to sovereignty nor brings reforms. It also breaks the National partnership. On the other hand, supporting the presidency is a door for building a strong State. I am not signing a ‘blank cheque’ by doing so; I will vote only when a matter is in tune with my convictions.
“No one can deny today that President Aoun has succeeded in bringing back respect, power and status to the Presidential post. He has put a stop to all the parties that had taken advantage of the misapplication of the Taëf Agreement by implementing the ‘Troika’ system and weakening the presidential role. After the Taëf was emptied from its fundamental basis, the sovereignty, partnership and institutions dimensions that it held were taken away. Today, the election of General Aoun has restored balance to National partnership in the Public Administration and to public nominations.
“What the Lebanese Army has accomplished since the nomination of General Joseph Aoun as Commander-in-Chief, is also exceptional. For the first time, the candidates at the Military Academy are subject to proper exams, whilst previously political means and money were used to interfere in this. I hesitated in the past to mention this matter, as I didn’t want it to be exploited and presented as though I was campaigning against the Army.
“The third point in our understanding with the FPM is to put a stop for having the Zgharta-Zawiyat Caza being ‘given away’ to a particular party as part of a political compromise-deal. The understanding includes working for bringing back balance, diversity and development to Zgharta-Zawiyat.
“In 2009, for instance, when I as a candidate lost in the elections, the March 14 movement, to which I belong, achieved an overall win in our constituency. But all parties, including our allies, acted either with indifference or with an intention to use or ‘gift’ the Zgharta Caza as part of a general political compromise.
“Between 2005 and 2009, we were not able to work with freedom, due to the security fears and the wave of assassinations, but Minister Nayla Moawad, who was the Minister of Social Affairs opened roads and social centers in the Zgharta Caza; she moved forward with the Ehden waters project; fought a fierce battle to appoint a general director in the Ministry of Education; these are among other services she brought to the region…
“As for the diversity that we seek for Zgharta-Zawiyat, I would like to ask: ‘If someone part of the March 14 Movement has the ambition to have a political presence in the caza, shouldn’t he have reached his goal counting on the March 14 Movement’s loyalty towards him?’”
10,000 votes
About the Parliamentary elections, he said: “All the surveys show that with the added diaspora that has registered to vote for us, we represent a strong electoral block of 10,000 votes. This means that whatever is the choice I make after the elections, it will be based on the 3 fundamentals in my political action: Sovereignty, Reform and Partnership. This is clear in my understanding with Gebran Bassil.”
Tackling the René Moawad problematic and whether the FPM has accepted his Presidency’s legitimacy, Moawad reiterated that “the reconciliation with General Aoun about this emotional matter took place in 2013, when General Aoun sent a representative to the requiem mass of that year, which was a way to accept President Moawad’s legitimate election.”
“But the most meaningful”, he added, “was the visit I made to General Aoun in 2014 in Rabiyeh, which turned out to be a visit of a Conscience review about President René Moawad’s assassination.”
Negotiations with Al Marada
About the various negotiations he made ahead of the elections, Moawad said: “There were two problems in our negotiations with ‘Al Marada’. The first was of a political nature. During the negotiations with Toni Frangieh, in the presence of Minister Youssef Saadeh, Minister Suleiman Frangieh, who was also present, insisted that any electoral alliance must be linked to us following the national and regional political line that he upholds. I was clear, answering that I cannot get into any political or electoral alliance at the expense of my principles. This is a proof that I didn’t change my principles to get a position of power, as some accused me of, knowing that the ‘Al Marada’ had offered that I head the electoral list and be proposed for a ministerial portfolio. But I refused to betray my principles for that.
“The second problem with ‘Al Marada’ is related to the work at the Zgharta Municipality after we had formed a joint list for the municipal elections. We had been given promises about reforms, about implementing transparency, and giving a priority for development work. But these promises were not kept, and the municipality as well as the Union of Municipalities soon returned to be a tool for politics, at the expense of development.
He added: “I will accept to be part of a Parliamentary block, only if it is in tune with my convictions and principles. This is why, with both the FPM and LF, I refused to tie myself in a Parliamentary block. I believe that my presence in any list is based on my personal electoral strength. I therefore don’t ‘join’ a list; I make an alliance with others on the same list. I even discussed with the FPM the colour of the list, and we agreed that it won’t be the orange colour.”
About sovereignty, he said: “I will be the front liner in any battle aiming to exclusively restrict arms to the State’s control; I mean any arms outside legitimacy, not only Hezbollah’s arms. I will not agree to the FPM Parliamentary block accepting that arms can be held by a party outside the Lebanese Army and the official security bodies. My position is clear on this. I am also in favour for what is known as ‘positive neutrality’, and that the Lebanese State respects the Arab and International legitimacy, and abides to all international decisions. My position on all this is unwavering. I have paid heavy prices for this: the lives of dear ones and years of continuous struggles. I won’t compromise on this.”
On the re-election of Speaker Berri to head the new Assembly, he said: “We will deal with this when the time comes. I will check the positions of the various Parliamentary blocks and groups.”
On agreeing that PM Saad Hariri heads the post-elections new Cabinet, he said: “Hariri is my choice to form the next cabinet. Despite the recent coldness in our relations and the ‘blaming’ from my side for the way he has dealt with me, my family and our region, I still see him as the representative of moderation and partnership. He is the guarantee for the national partnership and moderation to be preserved in the country, despite my disapproval about some compromises he made.”
Negotiations with the Lebanese Forces
About his negotiations with the LF, he explained: “We had remarks about the LF’s attitude and choices in the Zgharta-Zawiyat region that came either out of negligence from their side or a readiness from their side to use the region for general political compromises.
“At the national level, common principles, common struggles and a core alliance have tied us with the LF for several years. And I would like to repeat, that even though we did not go for an electoral alliance with them, even though we have remarks about their attitude and choices in Zgharta-Zawiyat, and even though we don’t agree on the priorities that we each want for the region, what links me to them is deep and the present elections’ divergences won’t affect it. Samir Geagea is a Lebanese person with principles. This is what ties me to him. I won’t change my mind on this, even if our views differ for some matters.”
Moawad explained the factors that led to a non-alliance with the LF: According to all surveys, the Lebanese Forces will get 3 electoral quotients in the constituency, allowing it to be represented by 3 MPs. But the party has presented 4 strong candidates, with each one having a good standing for preferential votes: 2 in Becharre, 1 in Koura and 1 in Batroun. If they make an alliance with us, our joint electoral quotients will become 4, and it is normal that in this case I request that the 4th winning candidate be from my movement. But the problem arose when, during our last rounds of negotiations, just 1 and half month before the elections, Dr Geagea informed me that he has decided to present the candidature of an LF partisan in Zgharta. It is his right to do so, and I understand this move out of principle, especially that in the list with the FPM, there is a partisan candidate (Pierre Raffoul). But the practical result will be that that late candidacy will lead to the dispersion of the preferential votes in Zgharta-Zawiyat, helping the 4th electoral quotient that is gained through our alliance to be allocated to the LF candidate in Batroun… I would then simply be helping the FL get a 4th seat from a region different from the Zgharta-Zawiyat, and Zgharta-Zawiyat will lose its sovereign candidate and representative.
About the supposed guaranties that were given to him by the LF on this matter, Moawad answered: “We went through long negotiations with the LF, and after months, the guaranty that was offered was that they will present a candidate in Zgharta but won’t give him any votes!? This was not at all convincing for us… The dispersion of the preferential votes will only lead to the failure of everyone in Zgharta-Zawiyat.”
“If the LF had Zgharta-Zawiyat among their priorities, we would not have even needed to hold negotiations. We do agree with them on 98% of common national principles, but their interests for the Zgharta region are different from ours, and I will in no way give Zgharta-Zawiyat away.”
The Alliance with the FPM and the Future Movement
Explaining his alliance with the FPM, he said: “The FPM has just one candidate that precedes me in preferential votes. It is Gebran Bassil. I will therefore for sure come as 2nd in the list. Minister Pierre Raffoul is also on the list, which is the proof that I don’t mind having a partisan candidate from Zgharta on my list, but what I did not accept was a partisan candidate (the LF candidate) that leads to the dispersion of votes to benefit another region (Batroun), and the end-result that there won’t be a representative for Zgharta.”
About Sheikh Jawad Boulos, he said: “If Zgharta-Zawiyat is not represented in the Parliament, balance cannot be reached in the caza, diversity cannot be re-established, development cannot take place, and the people of Zgharta-Zawiyat who believe in sovereignty can’t reach all their rights.
It is also clear that MP Frangieh can only win two seats in the caza. This leaves one seat, and the one with the highest chances of success should be supported by the other candidates to win. Sheikh Jawad Boulos is a good person and reads politics well. Based on his sovereign and zghortiot convictions he decided to back me, and increase the chances of success for our common political beliefs.”
About the Sunni votes, Moawad said: “We have an alliance with the FPM and with the Future Movement. The Future Movement has presented the candidacy of Nicolas Ghosn and is part of the coalition that includes the FPM, the Future Movement and the Independence Movement. The alliance with Sheikh Saad will make the list win more votes, but I can’t tell where their preferential votes will go. As for me, I can say that the preferential votes that I will gain will be more than 9,000 votes.”
Moawad stated that, till this day, he has always used his good relations with the US Administration and with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries for the good of Lebanon, politically and development wise and he will keep doing so in the future.
Answering a question, Moawad said: “The FPM holds about 20,000 votes in our constituency; the Future Movement with Farid Makkari and Nicolas Ghosn holds about 12,000; and we hold 10,000. This means that our alliance is balanced, despite the fact that we have been out of the Cabinets since 10 years, and political compromises were done at our expense.”
Answering another question, he said: “I am against the distribution of Ministerial posts according to regions (cantons). I will hold a fierce battle against this. I don’t have any promise from any party to get a ministerial portfolio, but I will try hard to be named as a minister in the next Cabinet. I will insist that Zgharta-Zawiyat be represented by a minister belonging to our Sovereignty political line.”
Gebran Bassil
About Minister Gebran Bassil calling the villages and towns of Zgharta-Zawiyat ‘farms’, Moawad explained that he rose the matter with him complaining about the usage of this term, and they had a long discussion. Expanding on the matter, he said: “We had a long political discussion about the role of Zgharta-Zawiyat. We don’t want a rupture to happen between Zgharta and Zawiyat. We want partnership instead. We don’t accept that Zgharta be monopolized by anyone, and we strongly refuse that part of Zgharta holds a monopoly over Zawiyat. We don’t accept that Zawiyat is put in confrontation with Zgharta, or that a third party to create a division. We know what this led to in the 70s. We are for a complete partnership between Zgharta and Zawiyat. This is the slogan that I hold: ‘So that Zawiyat becomes again a corner stone (زاوية) and the decision is for Zgharta-Zawiyat’.”
Asked about who he would support between Gebran Bassil and Suleiman Frangieh for the Presidency, he said: “For the Presidency, I have 3 criteria: One is related to Lebanon, one to the Christians, and one to Zgharta. The Zgharta criterion is very important to me for sure, but I cannot make a choice based on it alone. The Christian and the national criteria play a role too…”
On what would be his priorities if he reached the Assembly, he said: “Economy and Development. The most important is bringing life back to the Lebanese’s dream to live in their homeland. I won’t enter the Parliament to be part of the current political confrontations or to hold the traditional flashy slogans, most of which I don’t believe in anymore.”
He added: “I am convinced that after the elections there won’t be a majority and a minority. Everyone will be represented in a coalition Cabinet as per the National Pact traditional (الميثاقية). Therefore, as a Member of Parliament, I will consider that my first duty is to work on the field; to devote myself for projects related to economy and development. I will work with youth and in the remote regions. I am not just saying nice words. I hold a vast experience in the development field. I also believe that corruption exists within all the political groups, and so is honesty. Our role is to create a majority that works for the implementation of reforms. We will propose projects and legislation and work on rallying the largest number of MPs and Parliamentary Blocks to create a majority that seeks Reform.”
The Lebanese Economy
He added: “The Lebanese Economy is crippled due to 3 fundamental flaws it carries:
The first problem is what MP Walid Joumblatt summarized with the question ‘Hanoi or Hong Kong?’, meaning that the Lebanese economy’s identity needs to be reconfirmed. For the time being, this is putting limits to economic growth and investments – knowing that the main reason for the lack of investments is the lack of trust in stability. Therefore, as a first step, we need to support and work for the principle of empowering the State’s apparatus.
The second point is that true economic growth cannot be reached if there is a bad relationship with the Gulf. Our economy is based on services, Tourism, investments and the jobs that the Lebanese hold in the Gulf.
The third point is that 1/3 of our economy is ‘Black economy’, outside the Law’s frame. About 3 Billion USD come from tax evasion and from smuggling across the Lebanese borders. Therefore, the Lebanese economy must be rebuilt under the State’s umbrella.”
He continued: “The other issue is related to the Lebanese Economy’s identity. Lebanon held the first free economy system in the region. When money exchange was restricted in Europe, it was free in Lebanon. The high inflation has reached a critical level. Over the last 3 years, the Lebanese State has given employment to 26,000 people, which is the capacity of the whole Banking sector. The State ‘expands’ at the expense of any new initiative or economic project. Therefore, to really fight corruption, we need to transform the State from a failing and corrupt employer to a proper healthy economic Lebanese system.”
About communication, he said: “Communication is the foundation for economic growth in all countries, but unfortunately the Lebanese State uses it for the time being like a mere ‘moneybox’, while a proper internet speed service is not available.”
About Electricity, Moawad considered that the most important was to “follow proper procedures to provide this service especially that this has cost us 30 Billion USD so far. The citizen still has to pay 2 separate electricity bills. Eventually we need to go for a partnership with the private sector for this service. For this, I will go into legal battles, proposing new legislations and putting pressure on MPs in all the Parliamentary blocks.”
He explained: “The main problem is not the amount of the public debt; it is the role that the State holds. It is not a coincidence that we have the ‘Rome Conference’ and ‘CEDAR’ happening at the same time. The Defence Strategy is directly linked to the Economic Reform Strategy. There is a real opportunity, and we should make the best use of it. Once more, the international community gives reassurances about security and stability in Lebanon. Therefore, we carry the responsibility to properly follow up with the ‘CEDAR’ program, through the ‘Rome Conference’ and through implementing internal reforms.”
Moawad noted that he chose the ‘By Word and by Action’ slogan for the Elections’ campaign to send a clear message to the voters that his words, are not just an electoral slogan, but represent an experience that has already been put in practice in his development and political actions.
A Message to the Lebanese
At the end of the talk-show, Moawad sent a message to the Lebanese:
“‘By Word and by Action’. This is not a mere slogan. It is an experience tuned with the principle of Sovereignty, for which I paid a heavy price: the life of dear ones and a hard and long period of struggles. I am offering a reform experience for which I paid heavy sacrifices, so that no one says one day that Michel Moawad’s hands are spoiled by corruption or that he has misused public funds. Both our allies and our opponents testify that we have never taken part in corruption practices, or misused public funds. I am offering my experience in development work. I don’t engage in politics at the expense of development. I am introducing development to public life. Through the René Moawad Foundation, we presented a successful and transparent development experience; an experience that surpassed religion, considerations based on regions and the limitations of political alignments; an experience that covered the whole of Lebanon, from the extreme North to the extreme South, from Beirut to the extreme Bekaa…
“I ask for your trust… far from the campaigning slogans and the comedy of confrontations between political forces and political blocks. Your trust is needed so that I can be a leading force to defend sovereignty and work for reforms and development. I call upon the people of Zgharta-Zawiyat and the North, the Independence Movement’s partisans, the believers in René Moawad, all the believers in sovereignty in Zgharta-Zawiyat. We have been wounded and hurt, but we never gave up and we never bowed down; ‘We remained together, and together we will reach our goal’. Today, we are living a new chapter, through which we will bring back balance and diversity to Zgharta-Zawiyat; through which we will bring back partnership between Zgharta and Zawiyat; through which we will bring back development to Zgharta-Zawiyat. The days of isolation are behind us. ‘Together we will reach our goals’. After the path of pain and the crucifixion… comes resurrection.”
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