The President of “The Independence Movement”, MP Michel Moawad stated that we are facing a critical phase of Lebanon’s history, where we are fighting for the existence and the identity of our country. He noted that if the government will get the confidence, its decisions will be decisive since it will impose the future of the country and the future of our children as well.

MP Moawad declared that today we are witnessing the collapse of the corruption system that included all parties and led to the bankruptcy. He added that we should confess the ugly truth that our country is suffering from bankruptcy and our economy collapsed; and that denying this fact will make the salvation much harder and the cost much expensive.

In his speech in the confidence session, MP Moawad noted that the country’s bankruptcy is caused by four reasons: the first reason is our political system or the way we apply this system concerning the decisions mechanisms. The second reason is the wrong management of issues, corruption, illegal dealings & the sharing mentality between parties. The third reason is the financial, monetary & economic policies. And the fourth reason is the regional localization of Lebanon, i.e. the contradiction between the present political localization of Lebanon and its economy and its benefits as well as the map of its economic partners.

MP Moawad highlighted “the necessity of implementing the disassociation policy with the national agreement, including Hezbollah, because we are not capable to continue with the same mentality and the country will collapse. Moawad asked the President to do the initiative in order to reach this agreement.”

He added “I am discussing this crisis because I am convinced that we should find an acceptable solution between people, political parties, financial markets & the Arab and International communities.” He noted that the presence of a government is better than the governmental void and any solution should start with a government that gets the confidence of people in its constitutional institutions as well as the confidence of the majority of the Parliament and should be accepted by the Arab and International communities; a government that is capable of implementing urgent procedures in a complete plan of salvation, including the preparations for early parliamentary elections.

MP Moawad considered that “the problem in this new government doesn’t reply to any of the above-mentioned points. Any government should have a program and also an identity that enables it to implement this program.” He pointed to many parties for being responsible of the failure to reach a national agreement to form a government that can have a wide support from the majority of the Lebanese people.

Concerning the ministerial statement, MP Moawad highlighted the positive points. In fact, the government is committed to pass laws related to the judicial independence in order to fight corruption, to prosecute the illicit enrichment, to recover stolen public funds, to improve transparency, to lift the bank secrecy and to reveal the financial disclosure of the public sector employees. He noted that the ministerial statement did not mention the law of legal immunity that constitutes a national priority and a base for any prosecution of any politician.

Moawad declared that the basic problem of this ministerial statement is that it does not admit that we are facing a collapse. It mentioned “the crisis” as in essays of literature, while in fact; we are amidst a situation of bankruptcy and collapse. Moreover, he noted that the statement mentioned many different points; however, it was supposed to present answers and steps to face the country’s bankruptcy and asked: “what is the needed amount of money for the few coming months, and from now to the two coming years: is it 5 billion dollars? Or 10 billion dollars? Or 20 billion dollars? 50 billion dollars? Or 70 billion dollars? Who will pay this bill?  And how? The banks? The depositors? Depositors with précised amounts of money? How? How far? For how long the deposits in banks will remain subject to tight restrictions? For 5 years? For 10 years? Who will pay for it? Corrupters will pay through the recovery of the stolen public funds? What are the expectations in numbers?”

He added “In fact, the Lebanese people lost about 40% of its money value due to the change of the exchange rate of the Lebanese Lira.

Moreover, what is the government plan regarding the Eurobonds payments due in March? Is Lebanon willing to pay? Is the government planning to reschedule the Eurobonds payments or to delay the payments without negotiations? What will be the legal, financial and economic effects of this delay?

Is the government considering the IMF as a partner to save the country or as a violation to the country’s sovereignty?

It is obvious that a part of this bill will be paid through selling or the privatization of the state assets or part of its sectors. Will the privatization take place before or after imposing fundamental reforms?

How will the government finance this budget deficit while all the local and international partners refuse to finance it? Is it through printing further paper money? Or through borrowing from the Central Bank from people’s deposits? Is the government aware of the budget deficit in this current situation? There is no commitment to reduce the deficit or to implement the fundamental reforms.”

MP Moawad called for listening to the Lebanese demands who chose, after the “October revolution”, to build a country not a farm, to have politicians who respect laws not politicians considered as half-gods, to implement the judicial independence, to recover stolen public funds and to see corrupters in jail. Lebanese people are asking for citizenship rights away from fanaticism and corruption, for a productive economy with job offers and not a rent-based economy. He said: “political parties should decide whether to meet the Lebanese demands and impose the fundamental reforms in the institutions or to be ready for open confrontations with unknown consequences.”

He asked MPs to think of their children before voting to the government because no one is willing to inherit his family debts, bankruptcy and humiliation. He noted that future generations should inherit a country that deserved all the sacrifices offered through the years.

At the end, MP Moawad did not give the confidence to the new government and said: “for all the reasons related to the government identity and the absence of a clear program to manage the bankruptcy, I neither give the confidence to this government nor to the opposition that has been a partner in corruption. In fact, today, it is not about a confidence issue, a government issue, or a presidency issue; it is about a Country issue. I wish that I will stand here three or four months from now and apologize for being wrong with what I said today.”

The speech of MP Moawad:

Your Excellency,

Today, we are not in a confidence session. The issue is much greater. We are facing a critical phase of Lebanon’s history, where we are fighting for the existence and the identity of our country. If the government will get the confidence, its decisions will be decisive since it will impose the future of the country and the future of our children as well.

We have already fought the battle of freedom, sovereignty and independence, but today the battle is more dangerous. The challenge is to maintain the existence and the identity, to protect Lebanon!

If we do not take the right decisions, during the few coming weeks and months, Lebanon will be in serious danger. In fact, the real peril is not only in becoming poor, but also, in Lebanon losing its role as the country of freedom, as the hospital of the Middle East, as the country enjoying the free economy and the individual initiative that contributed in the success of the Lebanese people all over the world. Lebanon… is the art of living that we are attached to and that we insist to preserve. We are facing a danger that can transform Lebanon into Venezuela of the Middle East with fewer natural resources.

Your Excellency,

It is impossible to find a remedy to our case without knowing the decease. The cancer patient cannot be remedied with heart drugs and not with Panadol. The “October revolution” is not a revolution in the face of a dictator regime. We are witnessing the failure of a system that caused the bankruptcy of the country; a system of corruption that included all parties after the assassination of President Rene Moawad. At the beginning, this system was under the collaboration of the Syrian regime. Then, it continued after 2005 with the participation of the majority of the parties and the political, economic & financial forces, as well as security officers, judges, journalists and religious personalities, without forgetting a part of the Lebanese people who voted for this corrupted system.

This problem cannot be remedied with tear gas or with rubber bullets or with cement walls or by putting the security forces face to face with protesters. It can be treated only by admitting the ugly truth: our country is suffering from bankruptcy and our economy has collapsed.

Therefore, we are facing a crisis of money liquidity and people are standing in banks for hours to withdraw a limited amount of money per week under tight restrictions. This bankruptcy imposed two and maybe three rates of exchange of dollar. Lebanese people are not able to transfer money to outside the country, the matter that obliged us to reorganize the importation of gas, flour and drugs. Thus, we are facing difficulties in importing essential materials for industry, as well as medical equipments for hospitals. Thousands of companies were closed and others are about to close, economic sectors collapsed and thousands of Lebanese have lost their jobs and the poverty has reached about 40% and may become 50% before the end of 2020.

Your Excellency,

It is hard to admit the truth, but it is more dangerous to keep on lying to ourselves and to people. Defining the problem is the first step of the road to salvation. Lebanon is not the only country who collapsed. Many countries have suffered from bankruptcy and had to take hard decisions and to implement fundamental reforms and could overcome the crisis. Every day of delay will make our crisis bigger and more perilous and making the same mistakes can never recover the situation. Therefore, we should know the reasons that caused our country’s bankruptcy.

Four reasons led us to this situation:

The first reason is our political regime and its implementation, because we are facing a major problem in taking decisions. In every company, a certain mechanism should be applied to take any decision. So, if the council of administration is formed of 7 members and every member has the veto right but has not the right to decide, it will definitely collapse. So, what if this is applied to our government?

If what happened through the past years was based on the concept: whether to agree on sharing parties or to dispute, the mutual governmental obstruction-imposed years of void and that is why some parties say “we were not allowed to perform in our ministries!”

The second reason is the wrong management of issues, corruption, illegal dealings & the sharing mentality between parties. This is not only corruption in the state, but a governing system based on corruption at the cost of the institutions. Instead of the state managing the institutions and the various religions, the religions leaders managed the state and shared its resources. And the result is reaching a 90 billion dollars debt and maybe 130 billion dollars without counting the debts of BDL; while there is no electricity, no roads, no clean water, no fire helicopters, no old age security, no health care, no fast internet (our internet bill is the most expensive in the world), even the airport needs maintenance. Our state has failed in managing most of the sectors.

The third reason is the financial, monetary and economic policies. In the first year at the university, we learn in the economic sciences course that the main condition to maintain the exchange rate of the currency is not to have a budget deficit. However, in Lebanon, there is a contradiction between the previous budgets with huge deficits and the exchange rate that charged us billions of dollars. Moreover, increasing the interests on deposits has decreased the investment activity in the productive sectors. Thus, Lebanon’s economy has become a rent-based economy; therefore, the deficit of the trade balance in 2018 has reached about 17 billion dollars.

Allow me to remind you that we were always rejecting these policies. And this hall witnessed the objection of Nayla Mowada since the 90s with few of her colleagues and they paid a lot for it at the time… RIP Nassib Lahoud and God bless President Hussein Al Husseini and their colleagues.

The fourth reason is the regional localization of Lebanon, i.e. the contradiction between the present political localization of Lebanon and its economy and its benefits as well as the map of its economic partners. I am not about to discuss my well-known opinion of this localization, but I am saying that Lebanon cannot be politically localized in Iran’s axis while its economy is completely related to the American axis, as well as to Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. A relation that starts with the commercial exchange of touristic investment, the Lebanese diaspora in these countries that transfers billions of dollars to Lebanon per year and the assistance offered by these countries to Lebanon. This equation is not only applied in Lebanon but in all countries around the world. For example, Fidel Castro was geographically the neighbor of the United States but he decided to enter the Soviet axis. Castro was convinced of his choice and he built the economy of Cuba on this conviction.

As for Lebanon, if we chose to be part of Iran’s axis, at least we should be able to build a long-lasting economy with this axis, not by theory but by numbers and facts. In case we want to suggest China as a substitute of the United States, and Iran as a substitute of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, then Chinese companies should not retreat from Lebanon like they did in Iran after the US sanctions.

The partnership with Iran should offer thousands of jobs and compensate the transfers, investments, assistance and the commercial exchange in billions of dollars per year.

If we are unable to guarantee the success of this partnership, the solution is not in the second axis. However, we should apply the disassociation policy. What does this mean? It means to maintain our friendship with all the countries without interfering in their affairs. Disassociation does not mean not to defend our land or frontier against Israel or any other threat. The problem with Hezbollah is about the mechanism and not the concept. We consider that the mechanism should be applied through an agreement on the defense strategy under the Lebanese government’s management. Disassociation does not mean to accept the settlement of the Palestinian refugees and not accepting the international policies concerning the Syrian refugees’ issue. These issues are in the heart of our sovereignty and can threaten our Lebanese national interest. It is our right to react wisely. For example, disassociation means not to attack Saudi Arabia& the Emirates for the sake of the Houthi armed movement in Yemen. Disassociation does not mean to be part of the American axis but at the same time, not to fight against the Americans in the region and not to interfere in strengthening the Iranian power in the region. Disassociation does not mean to use “literature” in the ministerial statement. We have tried it with PM Saad Hariri, with his exceptional inherited Arabic & international relations, and it failed! And it will also fail with PM Hassan Diab, with all my respect to his person. I am saying all this for Hezbollah because together we can save our country. We are not capable anymore to continue with this superior behavior. Disassociation should take place according to a national agreement, with the accord of Hezbollah. I call the President Aoun to do the required initiative to reach this agreement.

Your Excellency,

I am discussing this crisis not increase my popularity but because I am convinced that we should find a way to save the country and find an acceptable solution between people, political parties, financial markets& the Arab and International communities. I do believe that the presence of a government is better than the governmental void and any solution should start with a government that is capable of implementing urgent procedures in a complete plan of salvation, including the preparations for early parliamentary elections. Why am I talking about the government before discussing the parliamentary elections? In fact, we are witnessing a difficult financial& economic situation and we cannot bear months of delays to prepare for the parliamentary elections without taking urgent procedures.

The solution is to form a government capable to face the challenges by its identity and based on the local& foreign support. The government should have a program to solve the above-mentioned reasons to stop the collapse of our country. It should be formed on three bases: the first base is to rebuild the confidence of people in their institutions because the situation in the streets is getting worse especially amidst the tight economic restrictions; the matter that will increase the poverty level in the three coming years. The second base is to form a government having the confidence of the majority of the Parliament, armed with a national agreement to implement the necessary reforms. The third base is to form a government accepted by the Arab and international communities and that can rebuild the relations between Lebanon and its Arab and international partners. Therefore, I suggested forming a government of experts and independents and I named the ambassador Nawaf Salam as PM. However, some parties considered that Mr. Salam is “American” and this is unfair because the same parties have named a government that, at least half of its ministers are holding the American nationality.

One cannot deny the presence of honest ministers, but the problem of this government is that it did not respond to the three above mentioned bases. Every government should not only have a plan but also an identity that enable it to implement the program. In fact, this government did not respond to peoples’ demands and the protests outside are the clear proof of what I am saying now. Moreover, this government did not get the support from the majority of the parties. However, it can cause a Sunnite-Shia conflict and we witnessed today the efforts deployed to ensure the confidence to the government. It is obvious that the Arab and international communities are not excited about this government too. In fact, I am not saying that the parties who formed this government are only responsible for it but also, I am blaming different parties for not reaching a national agreement to form a new government with the strongest support.

Concerning the ministerial statement, I can say that it includes positive points like the judicial independence laws and the legal system to fight corruption, to prosecute the illicit enrichment, to recover stolen public funds, to improve transparency, to lift the bank secrecy and to reveal the financial disclosure of the public-sector employees. It is remarkable that the ministerial statement did not mention the law of legal immunity that constitutes a national priority and a base for any prosecution of any politician and corrupter. Today, we should benefit from this historic chance: first, the revolution in the streets; second, the efforts of the President of Beirut Bar Association, Melhem Khalaf, as well as judge Souheil Abboud and the minister Marie-Claude Najem; and third, a parliamentary committee to pass laws. Therefore, we should pass these laws within two months and any delay is not acceptable anymore.

The main problem of the ministerial statement is that this latter does not admit that we are facing a real collapse. It is considering that we are getting through “a crisis”. In fact, when the growth national rate is 0% or one or two points minus; but when the national income decreases about 20%, when we are questioning whether to pay our country’s due payments or not, when people are waiting for hours in banks to withdraw a small amount of their deposits, then we would rather talk about a collapse and not a crisis.

Moreover, the government discussed many points in the ministerial statement, starting with metro stations, trains, modern schools and universities, modern central military hospital, social security networks, electricity plans, environmental plans, woman rights laws, modernization of public administrations and others of plans and promises. Therefore, this statement can be described by this verse from the Bible “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things but only one thing is necessary.” To face this situation, the government is asked to explain its plan to save the country from bankruptcy… and the rest is like the dollar in the ATM nowadays.

This government should tell us exactly about the bill of collapse, i.e. the needed amount of money for the few coming months, and from now to the two coming years: is it 5 billion dollars? 10 billion dollars? 20 billion dollars? 50 billion dollars? Or 70 billion dollars? Who will pay this bill?  And how? The banks? The depositors? Depositors with précised amounts of money? How? How far? For how long the deposits in banks will remain subject to tight restrictions? For 5 years? For 10 years? Who will pay for it? Corrupters will pay through the recovery of the stolen public funds? What are the expectations in numbers?

In fact, the Lebanese people lost about 40% of its money value due to the change of the exchange rate of the Lebanese Lira.

Moreover, what is the government plan regarding the Eurobonds payments due in March? Is Lebanon willing to pay? Is the government planning to reschedule the Eurobonds payments or to delay the payments without negotiations? What will be the legal, financial and economic effects of this delay?

Is the government considering the IMF as a partner to save the country or as a violation to the country’s sovereignty?

It is obvious that a part of this bill will be paid through selling or the privatization of the state assets or part of its sectors. The privatization will take place before or after imposing fundamental reforms?

I am asking this question because the consequences of reforms will be translated in the budget deficit and the government is planning to decrease the deficit without being committed to fixed numbers or dates. PM Diab adopted the budget of the former government. It is notable that we’ve corrected the adopted budget many times in the Finance and Budget Parliamentary Commission, but it remained out of time and place.

How will the government finance this budget deficit while all the local and international partners refuse to finance it? Is it through printing further paper money? Or through borrowing from the Central Bank from people’s deposits? Is the government aware of the budget deficit in this current situation? There is no commitment to reduce the deficit or to implement the fundamental reforms.

Furthermore, there is no time commitment regarding the tax evasion despite the fact that solving this problem can increase the income between 500 million dollars and one billion dollars per year, while it takes 100 hundred days to apply its procedures. Does it need a decision?

Concerning the electricity plan, the government should take into consideration that it is difficult to find new investors amidst the financing problems and the tight restrictions imposed on money transfers. Moreover, companies investing in Der Ammar power plant may annul their contract. This problem can be applied on other privatization projects or projects with partnership of the public sector. What is the real plan away from the statements and titles to implement the necessary reforms in institutions that we cannot even supervise (over than 90 institutions)? What about employees who were hired against the law? What about retirement law? What about the transparency in the public tenders?

In this transitional phase, what is the priority to protect the poorest families? If the answer is that the ministerial statement mentioned projects about the social security network, the question will be: how will you finance it?

We are not about to hear literature essays; we are here to get answers for these questions.

Your Excellency,

After the “October revolution”, Lebanese people chose to build a country not a farm, to have politicians who respect laws not politicians considered as half-gods, to implement the judicial independence, to recover stolen public funds and to see corrupters in jail. They refuse to have a country where they listen about corruption, but corrupters are phantoms. Lebanese people are asking for citizenship rights away from fanaticism and corruption, for a productive economy with job offers and not a rent-based economy. They are asking for asphalt highways, electricity, clean water, clean environment without pollution& garbage, fast internet and modern infrastructure; not asphalt in gardens and private door entries.

Political parties should decide whether to meet the Lebanese demands and impose the fundamental reforms in the institutions or to be ready for open confrontations with unknown consequences.

Every MP should think of his children before voting to the government because no one is willing to inherit his family debts, bankruptcy and humiliation. Future generations should inherit a country that deserved all the sacrifices offered through the years.

For all the reasons related to the government identity and the absence of a clear program to manage the bankruptcy, I neither give the confidence to this government nor to the opposition who has been a partner in corruption. In fact, today, it is not about the confidence, the government, or the presidency; in fact, it is all about the Country Existence. I wish that I will stand here, three or four months from now, and apologize for being wrong with what I said today… God bless Lebanon

Thank you