Head of the Independence Movement Michel Moawad said on the 25th anniversary of the assassination of his father President Rene Moawad that only strong state institutions can lay the foundations of a sovereign, independent and prosperous Lebanon.

Here follows the full text of his speech.

In the twenty-five years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, the world has changed immensely. Germany was reunited and emerged once again as the economic and industrial heart of Europe. Dubai, once a barren desert landscape, became a scion of the Middle East’s business community. Change became the order of the day from South America to Asia. Lebanon, unfortunately, remained in a state of perpetual stasis.

Twenty-five years also marks the end of our civil war, yet we cannot boast much success. At present, living in a state that can’t provide its citizens with electricity, water, public transportation or health care coverage. A state that has failed to impose its authority across the Lebanese territory by allowing the extrajudicial possession of military grade weapons. A state that has no control over its borders. A state that has failed to hold parliamentary elections. A state without proper leadership.

Albert Einstein was famously attributed to defining insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” A more perfect metaphor for the current state of Lebanese affairs could not be more precise.

In 1969, the Cairo agreement transformed our country into a battlefield for regional powers and fueled a fifteen-year year civil war that was marked by a Christian-Muslim conflict, intra-Muslim and intra-Christian fighting; a civil war that paved the way for the Israeli and Syrian occupation of Lebanon, followed by another fifteen years of Syrian hegemony that was promoted back then as a “temporary, legitimate and necessary military presence.”

Today, some are making the same mistake again. Although, this time around it is being marketed under a different brand: “the tripartite equation of the army, people and resistance.”

What have we learned from the Cairo agreement? What have we learned from a civil war that cost us over 200,000 lives, roughly 17,000 missing, thousands of displaced and over a million emigrants? What have we learned from a war that wreaked havoc on our economy? What have we learned from scores of political assassinations, campaigns of oppression, and arbitrary arrests?

The determination of some to repeat the same old mistakes could not be more clearly defined than insanity.

Insanity is to allow groups other than legitimate security forces to possess an arsenal of weapons. Insanity is to expect a state to coexist with militias. Insanity is to believe that freedom of speech and economic prosperity can be sustained in the presence of institutions that lack legitimacy. Insanity is the failure to learn that extremism fuels extremism. Insanity is to defend the May 7th events and those accused of committing the murders of Wissam al-Hassan and Mohammad Chatah.

Insanity is to believe in economic prosperity in the absence of a state and security institutions that have exclusive possess weapons and impose the rule of law. Insanity is to believe that certain actions will not provoke a response. Insanity is the failure to realize that extremism breeds extremism and that arms in the hands of non-state actors lead to the proliferation of weapons among other groups. Insanity is that certain domestic parties get involved in international power struggles that span across borders in service of regional agendas. Insanity is to believe that such involvement will not lead to their own destruction and that of their community.

Enough with this madness! Those who are urging the Lebanese to take arms should remember well the last time we decided to take sides with conflicting regional powers. They should remember well the heavy price we paid for taking security into our own hands. It is about time we learn that only Lebanon, through its state institutions, can protect us. But first we have to be Lebanese, loyal to our flag, to our land and to our laws.

What does it mean to be Lebanese?

To be Lebanese is to believe in the values of freedom, justice, cultural diversity, and moderation that represent the pillars of a democratic Lebanon. To be Lebanese is to believe that Mohammad Mahdi Shamseddine and Mohammad Chatah not only represent Muslims but are representative of us Christians as well. To be Lebanese is to show solidarity with fellow Lebanese who come under attack from a foreign force.

But in order to be Lebanese we must, together, reach an agreement on a set of principles that define our state and what it stands for, particularly our foreign and defense policies. Aggression in all its forms should be confronted. In particular, any and all violations to Lebanese sovereignty must be addressed appropriately.

Occupation cannot be classified into two categories: a friendly occupation and a foreign one. Likewise Lebanese prisoners cannot be divided into two groups: those detained by friendly regimes and those being held by enemy regimes.

It is unacceptable that a party member is freed through under-the-table negotiations while the Lebanese government was denied the right to negotiate the release of our kidnapped army soldiers.

Friends, it is about time that we advance our own national interests and shape Lebanon’s regional and international relations accordingly.

Our conflict with Israel should not be driven by religious and ideological considerations nor dictated by foreign agendas. Our conflict with Israel should be dictated by Lebanese national interests, based on our right to defend our sovereignty in line with the Arab league and international community resolutions.

It is not in Lebanon’s best interests to take sides with Bashar Assad’s regime based as promoted by advocates of the alliance of minorities. The alliance of minorities is doomed to failure. Just ask the Lebanese Christians. Aren’t we here today to commemorate the assassination of President Rene Moawad? We should know better than to seek the protection of Assad’s regime. Assad’s regime cannot protect us. It is Assad’s brutality and oppressive regime that fueled ISIS’ rise to power. It has been, ironically, Assad’s regime that was most in need of Iran and Hezbollah’s support to protect it from its own people. Saying that Bashar’s regime can protect us from ISIS is like saying that the regime of his father Hafez offered us protection from al-Sai’qa.

Truth be told, the end of ISIS’ rule begins with the fall of Assad’s regime. Our opposition to Assad’s regime, however, has nothing to do with his sectarian affiliation. It is unacceptable that we support or oppose Assad based on sectarian motives. We would have still opposed Assad if he was Sunni, Druze or Christian. The Assad regime has occupied Lebanon, assassinated our political leaders, oppressed our people, and continues to remain the main obstacle to the rise of a strong and independent Lebanese state.

It is because we have Lebanon’s best interests at heart that we oppose the Assad regime. And for the exact same reason, we oppose any Lebanese military involvement in the Syrian civil war whether to support or overthrow Assad. Involvement that has thus far brought destruction upon Lebanon and its security institutions, which have paid in blood for the sins of those who turned their back on the Baabda Declaration. The refusal of some to acknowledge the Baadba Declaration and their involvement in Syria has lured terrorism into Lebanon. Today, we call on those fighting in Syria to withdraw their forces and reiterate their commitment to the Baabda Declaration if they want to save Lebanon from plunging into chaos.

It is about time that we rebuild Lebanon and its institutions.

Enough with misery, enough with torture, enough with blood, and enough with failure.

A nation cannot exist without a state and a state cannot exist without institutions. Institutions provide a guarantee of freedom, stability, security, and justice. In the absence of institutions, economic prosperity cannot be achieved and the right of citizens to proper health care services, clean water and constant electricity cannot be warranted. In the absence of legitimate institutions, corruption will spread and reform impossible. In the absence of institutions, your future and that of Lebanon will be at risk. Institutions, however, cannot exist without respect for the Constitution.  Without respect for constitutional deadlines, without a president, institutions have no meaning and will subsequently fade away. Thus we say no to the extension of parliament’s term and no to the presidential vacuum.

Institutions cannot coexist with weapons in the hands of non-state actors. A duality that made us, in the past, choose between succumbing to occupation or going to war. Today, we say no to war and no to occupation. Instead, let us put an end to this duality.

If I may recall one more thing on this occasion, it is something my father said to me twenty-five years ago today, and given the historical context and what is happening right now it bears repeating: he said that it seems today that nothing has changed.

But my hope is that 25 years from now, both my children and yours will be able to tell a much different story.

It is your children’s’ right to live in a nation where security and peace prevail. A nation that protects its citizens’ rights. A nation which provides its people with job opportunities and encourages them to invest in their country rather than park money abroad. A nation where all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law. A nation that conveys both a message and a shining example of freedom, peace and justice. A nation that believes in civil rights, in education, in science and technology, and in cultural diversity. A nation that is proud of its diaspora and all its contributions.

This is how we envision Lebanon. Only this Lebanon can protect us all.  “My Message to you today is simple. I pose a heartfelt question to you: Do you love Lebanon? Then Let us join hands, rejoice, and rebuild Lebanon.” PRM