The Strong Lebanon bloc held its regular meeting presided by MP Gebran Bassil, discussed its agenda, and issued the following statement:
1 – With the visit of His Holiness the Pope approaching, the Strong Lebanon bloc hopes that Lebanon will reach a positive turning point. This places the responsibility on the Lebanese people to achieve the minimum understanding needed to protect Lebanon’s existence as a state, by establishing national sovereignty, restricting weapons to the army alone, entrusting it with the duty of defending Lebanon, and implementing the necessary reforms in the economy, finance, and administration. The bloc believes the current government is still going around in circles, a sign of its inability and lack of vision.
2 – Israeli attacks across all regions of Lebanon have become a clear violation of Lebanese territory. Therefore, the Lebanese government bears responsibility for its inaction, as it observes the attacks as if it were an outside party, merely tallying the damage and issuing statements of condemnation. At the same time, it is responsible for taking measures to implement the Cabinet’s decision on the exclusivity of weapons and carrying out the diplomatic campaign required to defend Lebanon’s rights and interests in the face of Israeli arrogance, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has failed to do.
3 – The Strong Lebanon bloc continues its effort to secure the rights of expatriates to run for office and vote, while other forces work to block this, depriving Lebanese expatriates of their rights, just as they deprived Christians of equal representation through the Orthodox law. The bloc leader’s visit to Patriarch Al-Rahi, in this context, aimed to reaffirm the importance of protecting expatriates’ rights and to deliver a memorandum outlining the strategic aspects of electing expatriates.
4 – The Strong Lebanon bloc discussed the constitutional and legal scandal and the injustice stemming from the Court of Audit’s decision on the telecommunications case, which it is not authorized to rule on since the matter is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers in the House of Representatives. This decision highlights the clear systematic judicial and political targeting of the movement, evident not only in this case but also in many other abuses we have seen—such as the use of a discretionary judiciary to open cases for political reasons, blatant repression within public administrations and institutions, overt exclusion from senior public positions, and the obvious quota system in appointments. The appointment mechanism is frequently used as a tool to bypass laws, standards, and principles in scandalous appointments. The bloc will take appropriate action to set the record straight, clarify the situation for the public, and take necessary steps to oppose this targeting.