The president of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, delivered a series of statements addressing Lebanon’s challenges and Zahle’s position, reaffirming the Movement’s commitment to the Greater Lebanon project—open to its surroundings and rooted in coexistence.
His remarks came during the annual dinner of the Zahle Judicial Authority of the Free Patriotic Movement, attended by President Michel Aoun, Bishops Joseph Mouawad, Paul Safar, Antonios Al-Souri, and Neven Al-Saikali; Archimandrite Elie Maalouf representing Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim; Kamal Bou Ali representing Mufti Ali Al-Ghazawi; MPs Salim Aoun, Ghassan Atallah, and Samer Al-Tom; former MP Cesar Maalouf; former ministers Ghada Shreim Atta and Kaby Leon; a representative of Zahle’s mayor Ziad Shaanin; Director General of Agriculture Louis Lahoud; Zahle Chamber of Commerce president Munir Al-Tini; Deputy FPM Presidents for Political and Administrative Affairs Martine Najm Kteily and Ghassan Al-Khoury; along with mayors, dignitaries, media figures, and a large crowd of FPM supporters.
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Zahle’s Role
Bassil emphasized that Zahle, the “House of Peace,” is not a city closed to anyone. He recalled that under President Michel Aoun, the FPM had launched and contracted a highway project linking Zahle to Baabda, but the initiative was halted after the October 17 crisis. “The goal was to connect Zahle more effectively with the Lebanese interior,” he explained, adding that Zahle should serve as Lebanon’s dry port and a transit hub bridging plains, mountains, and coast.
He described Zahle as a reflection of Lebanese diversity—one that cannot live in isolation. “The rhetoric of strife and isolation destroys rather than unites,” he warned, stressing that Zahle must remain interconnected with its neighbors. Christians, he added, carry a mission of openness by nature and by role. He insisted:
“No one can isolate Zahle from its surroundings or prevent its own people from entering it. Such language should only apply to Syrians or Israelis if they attempt to occupy it—not to the son of Zahle who ran for municipal elections and lost.”
On municipal elections, Bassil clarified that the FPM did not participate because it could not win alone, nor did it align with either camp: the first, with its provocative rhetoric, or the second, which had failed repeatedly in Zahle. The decision, he noted, was not withdrawal from Zahle’s reality but rather preparation for the parliamentary elections.
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The 2026 Elections: A Choice Between Unity and Fragmentation
Bassil described the 2026 elections as decisive, raising existential questions:
“Will we choose a Greater Lebanon, united and sovereign, or a fragmented Lebanon divided into mini-states?”
He contrasted two projects: one aiming for a single strong state with one army and one weapon embracing Lebanon’s diversity, and another satisfied with fragmentation and local fiefdoms, hoping to replicate Syria’s disintegration in Lebanon.
“Zahle’s resistance was never limited to one group,” he reminded. “The Lebanese army was the first to defend Zahle, joined by the Forces, the Battalions, the Free, the Guardians of the Cedars, and every young man—whether from Zahle or elsewhere—who sacrificed for Lebanon, for Bashir Gemayel’s 10,452 km². Those who truly honor Gemayel cannot speak of a Lebanon fragmented and stripped of coexistence.”
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Confronting Israel and Protecting Lebanon
Bassil highlighted the ongoing challenge of Israeli occupation:
“The question is how we will protect our country.”
He explained that the FPM’s understanding with Hezbollah originally legitimized its weapons within a state-approved defensive strategy. “That is why we supported it for 17 years,” he said. “But when it dragged us into wars unrelated to Lebanon and aligned with a regional axis foreign to us, we opposed it.”
He reiterated that weapons must serve only as deterrence against Israel and remain exclusively in the state’s hands:
“The challenge is ensuring Lebanon’s protection while preserving sovereignty. This cannot be done through populism or internal strife. Sovereignty requires one decision, exercised by the army alone.”
He stressed the importance of supporting the Lebanese army:
“We are with you as we were in 1984, 1988, and 1989. Do not allow others to burden or undermine you. The decision is yours. We are free people who do not submit to external imposition.”
Bassil continued:
“This matter demands the highest sense of responsibility. Our goal is clear: weapons must rest exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese army—an army strong enough to deter aggression. The alternative is dangerous: weakening our army by stripping it of its authority, its weapons, and its decision-making power, then hypocritically asking it to protect us. That path only exposes Lebanon to division and fragmentation.”
He reminded that when General Aoun returned in 2005, it was not the Free Patriotic Movement that legitimized Hezbollah’s weapons. “Hezbollah had already received legitimacy from the state in 1990, accepted by all Lebanese—except us,” he explained. “It was not the FPM that entered government in 2005 and extended legitimacy. It was the Forces, the Kataeb, and all the others who joined that cabinet—everyone except us.”
He said firmly:
“Those who legitimized the party’s weapons by entering governments alongside it in 1992, 2005, 2008, and 2016 should bear responsibility, instead of shifting the blame onto others.”
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Relations with Syria
Turning to Syria, Bassil described it as Lebanon’s second major challenge. “We want balanced relations with Syria,” he said, “not hostility and not submission.”
He warned that any division in Syria risks spilling into Lebanon, particularly with displacement being a direct threat to Zahle. He criticized selective rhetoric on detainees in Syria, noting that President Aoun had demanded accountability from the former Syrian regime, and questioned why today’s regime is not being pressed equally while it demands the release of Syrian detainees in Lebanon.
Bassil also recalled being the first minister to officially request maritime border demarcation with Syria, underlining the importance of secure, defined borders. He praised Saudi Arabia’s role in improving Syrian-Lebanese relations and insisted that Syria must reciprocate:
“When we were in government, Lebanon appointed an ambassador to Syria. Today we demand that Syria appoint an ambassador to Lebanon, recognizing the Lebanese state. It is unacceptable that Lebanese officials go to Syria while no Syrian officials come here. We want constructive relations that open the Arab market to us, not a return to past grievances.”
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Reform and the Economic Collapse
On the economic crisis, Bassil reminded that since 2019 the FPM has proposed key laws—including capital control and recovery of transferred funds—but Parliament blocked them. “Forty billion dollars were smuggled abroad,” he said. “Imagine if they had been used to cover Lebanon’s $71 billion deficit.”
He slammed double standards:
“Those fighting to free Riad Salameh should instead return the people’s money. The one who safeguarded state funds and brought $80 million annually is jailed, while the big thieves are freed.”
Addressing electricity, he explained that the so-called $40 billion waste was in fact subsidies to keep tariffs low. “Our plan was zero subsidy,” he noted, but from 1998 until recently, $20 billion was spent to maintain low prices. “Now bills are rising because more production means more cost—yet citizens ultimately pay less per hour. The problem is not that they do not know how to make a plan or do the math, but that electricity needs gas and fuel to be generated.”
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Conclusion
Bassil concluded with a firm call for unity:
“In 2026, we will face a national choice: one Greater Lebanon, indivisible and sovereign. Division and strife are not options. As General Aoun said, one day of internal war is worse than 100 days of external war. We will not be threatened into civil war for others’ agendas.”
At the close of the event, the Zahle Judicial Authority presented commemorative gifts to President Michel Aoun and MP Gebran Bassil.