President of the National Dialogue Party, MP Fouad Makhzoumi, accompanied by Eng. Ibrahim Zeidan, Executive Deputy Head of the Party’s Administrative Board, former Ambassador Dr. Bassam Naamani, and National Dialogue Party member Kamel Dimyati, visited the Grand Mufti of the Republic, His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, at Dar Al-Fatwa. They discussed matters concerning Dar Al-Fatwa and the general situation in the country.
Makhzoumi stated that the meeting with His Eminence was intended to discuss the catastrophe Lebanon was experiencing. He noted that the Council of Ministers had not convened for a month following a threat by a minister affiliated with the Amal Movement to bring down the government if it met before Judge Tarek Bitar was dismissed. He added that the dollar had surpassed LBP 22,000 and that economic and social conditions were continuing to deteriorate. Addressing the Council of Ministers, he asked: “Will you meet or not? Do the crises facing the Lebanese people not warrant a government meeting, or will we continue to take instructions from the Shiite Duo?”
Makhzoumi also discussed the judiciary with His Eminence, pointing out that everyone knew the government’s continued functioning was now contingent on Judge Bitar’s resignation. He rejected such a step, stressing that the truth must be established and that everyone must know who was behind the greatest crime in Lebanon’s history and the world’s third-largest explosion: the Beirut Port explosion.
Makhzoumi asked what had become of the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He pointed out that the Shiite Duo opposed an agreement with the Fund and that this was why the government’s work was being paralyzed. Regarding the Swiss transfers investigation, he referred to attempts by Bank of Beirut and the Mediterranean (BankMed) and several other banks to remove Judge Jean Tannous from the investigation. He asked: “Is this Hezbollah’s government, or is it a government for all of Lebanon?”
On Lebanon’s relations with Arab countries, Makhzoumi said that the withdrawal of several Arab ambassadors from Lebanon following Minister George Kordahi’s statements constituted a genuine catastrophe. He reiterated his call for Kordahi’s dismissal. Responding to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s remarks the previous day accusing Saudi Arabia of imposing a siege on Lebanon, Makhzoumi asked: “What wrong has the Kingdom committed against Lebanon? Can His Eminence compare what Iran has provided to Hezbollah with what Saudi Arabia has provided to all the Lebanese people?”
He stressed that such treatment of Arab countries was unacceptable, particularly given that more than 480,000 Lebanese live in the Gulf and support Lebanon and their families with billions of dollars in remittances.
Makhzoumi called on the government to convene and identify who was truly obstructing its work. He also urged all parties not to interfere in the judiciary’s work and to allow impartial judges to carry out their duties. He questioned whether it was reasonable for Judge Bitar to be asked by the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation whether he had received threats, only for the matter to remain on paper after Bitar confirmed that he had. He asked: “What is the position of the three presidents on this matter? And what is the position of state institutions that claim to be working to preserve the country?”
Makhzoumi urged everyone to wake up and recognize the gravity of the situation. He also called on Hezbollah to return to being a Lebanese political party and to become the Shiite partner with whom others could work together, rather than holding Lebanon hostage and leading it into the unknown.
He pointed out that it was wrong to say that Saudi Arabia had a problem with Hezbollah; rather, Lebanon itself now had a problem with Hezbollah. He stressed that Lebanon could not stand against the Arab world and expressed his hope that all those who genuinely cared about the country would work to help it overcome this crisis and safeguard the future of Lebanon and its children.
