Fouad Makhzoumi@fmakhzoumi
I would first like to reaffirm my full support for President General Joseph Aoun in the path he is leading to protect Lebanon, restore the full role of the state, and guide the country toward a just and lasting peace that preserves its sovereignty and serves the interests of its people.
Any serious approach to saving Lebanon requires courage in decision-making and wisdom in managing sensitive national issues, foremost among them stability, security, and sovereignty. From this perspective, we support the option of direct negotiations with Israel in a manner that safeguards Lebanon’s supreme national interest, ensures stability in the South, and reaffirms the rights and full sovereignty of the Lebanese state and opens the way toward a real and lasting peace.
We also reaffirm our full support for the government and its decisions in every sovereign step that restores the confidence of the Lebanese people and the international community in the Lebanese state and its institutions. In this context, we call on the government to move forward in dismantling the parallel and illegal economy, shutting down institutions such as “Al-Qard Al-Hassan,” preventing smuggling and illegal trade through all border crossings, ports, and the airport, and restructuring the banking sector and financial system to prevent the future financing and arming of militias by drying up their illicit financial resources.
We also believe it is necessary to suspend the implementation of the 1955 boycott law, as its continued use as a tool of intimidation and fear obstructs the confidence-building measures required to achieve a genuine and lasting peace and prevents Lebanon from advancing toward realistic solutions that serve its highest national interests.
I also stress the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the decision to make Beirut a safe and weapons-free city under the sole authority of the state. The delay in beginning implementation is no longer justified and is draining the Lebanese people’s confidence in the state’s ability to enforce its decisions.
Making Beirut free of weapons must be a sovereign Lebanese decision fully implemented by the Lebanese state, because the capital cannot recover its natural role and its political, economic, and cultural symbolism except under the sole authority of the state. The success of this step in Beirut would gradually pave the way for extending this process to the South, then to the North and the Bekaa, thereby consolidating the authority of the Lebanese state over all its territory and strengthening comprehensive national stability.
At the same time, we call on Israel to fully abide by any understandings or arrangements reached, and to carry out a gradual withdrawal from Lebanese territory in a manner that guarantees stability and respects Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial unity, leading to a fully sovereign Lebanese state free from any illegal or foreign military presence.
In parallel, we believe that the issue of general amnesty can no longer tolerate delay or political exploitation. The adoption of a fair and comprehensive general amnesty law has become a national and humanitarian necessity, Away from political point-scoring and political disputes.
What is required today is a balanced approach that preserves the rights of the wronged, takes into account the humanitarian conditions of prisoners, and at the same time safeguards the dignity of the military institution while preserving security and stability.
True justice cannot be selective; it must be comprehensive and balanced—protecting the nation, preserving human dignity, and safeguarding state institutions.
Lebanon today needs a strong state, genuine transparency, and responsible decisions that lead to peace and restore hope to the Lebanese people. This is what we are working for.
