Michel Moawad, the head of the Independence Movement stated that “the people who lost their lives at the Rweiss explosion site, alike those who died in Kseir or Homos or Aleppo, have lost their lives for random plots that – unfortunately – don’t serve Lebanon’s best interests.”

Moawad extended his condolences to the martyrs’ families and strongly condemned the terrorist attack that targeted innocent Lebanese citizens in the southern suburb, asserting that “any attack on a Lebanese citizen is an attack on all of Lebanon”. Moawad also denounced the shooting incidents spotted in certain areas in celebration of the attack, underlining that “Hezbollah’s sin in distributing Baklava after the “Fall of Kseir” or after the assassinations of Gebran Tueni and Wissam Al Hassan cannot be countered with a mistake.”

Moawad added: “the prevailing situation proved that the military intervention in Syria to protect Lebanon and to shield the resistance from the danger of Takfirists is a delusional slogan, used as a camouflage to hide the real reasons behind the intervention in Syria”, to continue “the Iran-Hezbollah plot should be addressed nationally through a true Islamic-Christian partnership and by rallying around the state, not through sectarian arrangements.”

Moawad called upon Hezbollah and all Lebanese forces “to cooperate in order to save Lebanon”. He said: “we need to rally around the President of the Republic who is the last legitimate stronghold and around the army for it to become a sovereign institution capable of reinforcing the Law on all citizens, not just a truce-keeping force sponsoring consensual security.”

Moawad also asked the 14^th of March Alliance for “a new work plan that should be drafted with clear objectives”. He said: “The Independence Movement agrees with the 14^th of March Alliance when the latter has an assertive, clear and fixed agenda that appeals to its partisans. Yet, when the same Alliance disappoints the people and contradicts itself by bargaining on stands, we are surely against it. We agree with the 14^th of March Alliance when such an alliance defends the state, the legislations and the constitutional entitlements; but we part from it when it partakes in or covers for an unconstitutional parliamentary extension or shows tolerance towards a forceful vacuum policy imposed by Hezbollah on public institutions.”

Moawad evoked the dangers facing the Lebanese and the foreigners alike on the airport highway, stressing “the need to open the “René Mouawad” airport in Kleiat”, a request that should not be mistaken with – as he says – “occasional media claims triggered by random accidents taking place on the airport highway”. He said: “The opening of the “René Moawad” airport would be a strategic move for Lebanon as a whole and for the Northern Governorate more specifically; it is a matter that should be dealt with seriously. We need to work with our allies and opponents alike to draft a feasible work plan in this direction”.

Moawad’s speech was given during the Social Relief Association’s Annual Dinner held at the Ehden Country Club resort in the presence of former minister Nayla Moawad; former Parliament Member Jawad Boulos; member of the General Secretariat of the 14^th of March Alliance lawyer Youssef Dweihy; “Lebanese Forces” party coordinator in Zgharta Marios El Beainy and its political relations coordinator Sarkis Dweihy; Michel Bakhos Dweihy representing the “Lebanese Phalanges” party; Tarek Ajjaj representing the “Future Movement”; the International President of the Universal Cultural League Mr. Michel Dweihy; Sirs Assaad Karam and Donald Al-Abed; in addition to a crowd of municipalities’ heads and mayors, as well as religious, political, economic, social, cultural and educational leaders in Zgharta Al-Zawiya. Additionally, the event was attended by several high-ranking members of the Independence Movement and a delegation of Zgharta Al-Zawiya’s dignitaries from Lebanon and the diaspora.

Following the national anthem, the welcoming speech, the association’s introduction and a quick award-distribution ceremony involving distinguished individuals from Zgharta Al-Zawiya, Michel Moawad gave the following speech:

“A terrorist attack hit the Rweiss area in the southern suburb on Thursday, killing 30 people and wounding another 300. I would first like to extend my condolences to the martyrs’ families. I also wish the wounded a fast recovery and assures them that their suffering is ours as well, because when a Lebanese citizen in a certain Lebanese area is targeted, it means the whole country has been targeted. We highly condemn and reject this terrorist act, as well as strongly denounce the subsequent cheerful celebrations carried out by certain groups in some Lebanese regions.”

Moawad added “Hezbollah committed a deadly sin when Baklava was distributed in celebration of the “Fall of Kseir” and following the assassinations of Gebran Tueni and Wissam Al Hassan. Yet, a wrongful act cannot be countered with another, and we cannot allow ourselves to be blinded by hatred. The people who died in the southern suburb are innocent Lebanese citizens; when everything settles down and things go back to normal again, we always find ourselves with the inevitability of coexisting under the same Lebanese flag. No Lebanese has ever spared an effort to offer the ultimate sacrifices for the sake of his homeland. Unfortunately, the people who lost their lives at the Rweiss explosion site, alike those who died in Kseir or Homos or Aleppo, have lost their lives for random plots that don’t serve Lebanon’s best interests.”

Moawad also said: “Our unfortunate reality is the undisputed consequence of Hezbollah’s intervention in the war in Syria, a war that serves Iran’s best interest; and we sincerely fear that the worst is yet to come. The prevailing situation proved that the military intervention in Syria to protect Lebanon and to shield the resistance from the danger of Takfirists is a delusional slogan, used as a camouflage to hide the real reasons behind the intervention in Syria.”

Allow me to remind you of my speech dated last May 26^th, a day after Sayyed Hassan announced Hezbollah’s involvement in the Kseir battle: “By blurring the borders between Lebanon and getting directly involved in Syria’s war based on sectarian grounds, Hezbollah is serving Iran’s best interests, which shakes the very foundation of the Lebanese state; this cannot possibly protect Lebanon or shield the resistance as claimed. Instead, it will only draw the Takfirists’ danger closer, not to mention other possible dangers.”

Yes, Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria does not protect Lebanon or shield the resistance. It only puts Lebanon at risk. We will keep saying and repeating that weapons cannot protect other weapons, and that self-security cannot be a substitute to the state and its institutions. Arrogance leads to nowhere, neither does running forward. Therefore, I seize this opportunity to call upon Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, asking him to immediately interrupt his deadly course in Syria and go back to the only jurisdiction of the state, one that cannot be in light of the duality of weapons. I ask Hezbollah and all Lebanese forces to cooperate in order to save Lebanon before it’s too late. I ask them to rally around the President of the Republic who is the last legitimate stronghold and around the army for it to become a sovereign institution capable of reinforcing the Law on all citizens, not just a truce-keeping force sponsoring consensual security.

I also call for the formation of a neutral government that will revive the state and protects the Lebanese and their interests. The different parties need to hold a new national dialogue, under the auspices of the President of the Republic, in order to discuss Lebanon’s defense strategy which cannot exist unless it is within the confines of the state and ran by it.”

Moawad added: “During the electoral campaign preceding the 2009 elections, many people asked me whether or not the 14^th of March Alliance could actually rule, if its members were reelected. I remember my answer was negative because I believed that neither the 14^th of March Alliance nor any other peaceful democratic power can rule in the presence of weapons threatening them and the entire Lebanese system. Yet, I still stressed the importance of the 14^th of March Alliance to control a parliamentary majority to prevent the fall of the state in the hands of illegally armed parties which would eventually sabotage Lebanon’s institutions.

That’s what I warned of and unfortunately, that’s what happened. Hezbollah and his “black shirts” were capable at the beginning of 2011 to lay hands on the government and a bit later on the state’s decision-making power, despite visible resistance leading to the government’s resignation. By taking the government hostage, Hezbollah paved the way for their external operations be it in Syria or in the Gulf countries – just like they previously did in Bulgaria, Cyprus and other countries – leading Lebanon to a status of confrontation with the rest of the world. Our Lebanese identity was so strongly impacted that even the Lebanese passport was raising suspicions in most international airports. Hezbollah’s external operations endangered the interests of millions of Lebanese living and working around the world, and without whom Lebanon wouldn’t have been able to move forward. Hezbollah had full power over the state, but they miserably failed in implementing reforms and making positive changes, with each household having to pay the price of their interferences, irrespective of sects and political affiliations. And Zgharta? Well, it remained neglected.

Do you know of any Lebanese household that does not believe that Lebanon has become without borders, without a state and without a law to protect its own people?

Do you know of any Lebanese household that cannot but feel the threat of weapons in cities and towns at the expense of security and stability?

Do you know of any Lebanese household that cannot but feel the shift of the moderate Lebanese society with its innate love of life, towards a more violent and extreme course, succumbing gradually under the grip of armed people and extortionists?

Is there anyone who drives assured on his way to the airport to welcome travelers or say goodbye to them, while the airport highway itself is a source of concern?

We cannot possibly accept to have our airport highway transformed into a marketplace to attract regional tenders serving Iran’s best interests. We cannot accept to restore Iranian-Turkish relations on the expense of ruining the Lebanese-Turkish relations.

For all these reasons and many others pertaining to the development of North Lebanon, it has become mandatory to open the “René Mouawad” airport in Kleiat. Away from occasional media claims triggered by random accidents taking place on the Rafic Hariri airport highway, the opening of the “René Mouawad” airport would be a strategic move for Lebanon as a whole, and for the Northern Governorate more specifically; it is a matter that should be dealt with seriously. We need to work with our allies and opponents alike to draft a feasible work plan in this direction.”

Going back to Hezbollah, I say that the Iran-Hezbollah plot cannot be addressed via sectarianism. We cannot act as Shias or Sunnis using the “Takfir” or the “weapon versus weapon” logics. We cannot act as Druze or Christians or Orthodox. Such a plot can only be addressed nationally via the Islamic-Christian partnership and by rallying around the state. Today, the 14^th of March Alliance has a historical and point-turning responsibility, which requires a change in its current course of actions as stands against illegal weapons are no longer sufficient. We need a work plan and clear objectives. We as the Independence Movement consider the 14^th of March Alliance principles bred into the blood of René Moawad. The Independence Movement agrees with the 14^th of March Alliance when the latter has an assertive, clear and fixed agenda that appeals to its partisans. Yet, when the same Alliance disappoints the people and contradicts itself by bargaining on stands, we are surely against it. We agree with the 14^th of March Alliance when such an alliance defends the state, the legislations and the constitutional entitlements; but we part from it when it partakes in or covers for an unconstitutional parliamentary extension or shows tolerance towards a forceful vacuum policy imposed by Hezbollah on public institutions.”

The current situation in Zgharta Al-Zawiya

Moawad also included Zgharta Al-Zawiya in his speech stating the following:

“Under such prevailing dangers and challenges, what can we say about the situation in Zgharta Al-Zawiya?

I previously spoke about this and I reiterate it, Zgharta Al-Zawiya is an integral part of Lebanon, which means that it can only prosper when Lebanon and its state are prosperous. Hezbollah was able to put its hands on the state and the government via its “black shirts” and with only two or three deputies at most, this party was able to do all this damage; whereas Zgharta Al-Zawiya’s parliament members alone could have prevented this coup.

So I ask: does Zgharta Al-Zawiya deputies’ desperate defense of the Syrian regime and Hezbollah’s plot on the expense of the state serve the best interests of the people in Zgharta Al-Zawiya? Our answer is that Zgharta Al-Zawiya cannot prosper if Tripoli is ruined and moderation chained.

I also ask: do the contributions of the Zgharta Al-Zawiya deputies in the “Abolition War” against the Future Movement and in the weakening of the moderate Sunni model by placing Tripoli under the mercy of extremism, serve the best interests of Christians and Zgharta Al-Zawiya?

Does reviving sectarianism at will with Bcharreh, Koura or Batroun or acting as feudal lords who protect their own subjects, serve the best interests of Zgharta Al-Zawiya?

I hereby declare that we will stand up to any person or group who will jeopardize the safety or the dignity of Zgharta; we know how to defend our people. Based on the same logic, we will not tolerate that a person, group or political leadership from Zgharta Al-Zawiya jeopardizes the safety and dignity of our neighbors in Tripoli or any other area to the benefit of external parties.

Zgharta Al-Zawiya and Tripoli coexist peacefully. Half our people have common interests with people in Tripoli and most Tripoli inhabitants spend their summers in Ehden. We are one and we will remain one whether they like it or not. We don’t need security cameras or protectors. We just need you to leave Tripoli or any other Lebanese region alone and away from any act that serves Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.

Zgharta Al-Zawiya can be at peace when a true reconciliation takes place and when an effective partnership is established between Zgharta and Zawiya; when Zawiya turns from stone to corner stone by becoming a principal and free partner who can have a say in shaping the future of its area and of Lebanon.

We made all these statements and took all of these stances, and the answer came that they alone can bring back Zgharta Al-Zawiya to the frontline; and that they alone can face the challenges in our area.

Today, Zgharta Al-Zawiya is represented by two ministers including the minister of defense, in addition to three deputies, while the Marada Movement holds a firm grip over Zgharta’s municipalities and their Union.

And I ask: Did those ministers, deputies and officials bring back Zgharta Al-Zawiya to the frontline? Aren’t we living a real vacuum on the political and developmental representation levels instead in the total absence of the state, as their own subjects confirm?

The irony is that when they saw their plans fail, we heard voices calling upon Zgharta’s leaders to take action. Let’s not escape the truth. Zgharta’s leaders are not the ones to blame for the prevailing situation but rather those who monopolized the representation of Zgharta in the government, the parliament and the municipalities for the past four years, not to mention the absolute power they were able to exercise during the Syrian custody era. What we truly need today is to hold Zgharta’s elected parliament members accountable for wanting to monopolize the decision-making process and failed miserably.