Lebanon’s independence this year: a memory not a feast! There is no independence nor those who are independent. This is how the seventy-ninth anniversary passes sadly, without ceremonial manifestations. The presidency of the republic is vacant, the House of Representatives is incapable of elections, accountability and legislation, while the government has resigned, conducting business to a minimum. Therefore, there is no word for the President of the Republic, and the military parade is absent, as well as the official receptions in Baabda. The question is: How can independence be restored to the homeland when Lebanese leaders have sold themselves to the devil, thus bringing the small country into the holocaust of great battles?
And when will the nation’s deputies wake up to this reality, and abandon their boring farce every Thursday, to return to being representatives of the people, not just representatives of the people?
Presidentially, Bassil returned to Lebanon to be surprised by a visit that Wafik Safa paid to the army commander, Joseph Aoun. It is a visit that changes many of the rules of the game, especially if it is followed by other meetings.
But: Is Hezbollah’s openness to serious aid and to open a new horizon for the presidential elections, or is it intended to send a warning message to Basil, especially after the ambiguous visit of the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Berri, and then his attack from Paris on Berri and Franjieh?
In parallel, the joint parliamentary committees continued to discuss the Capital Control project, before postponing the research until next week. Will the postponement remain the master of the parliamentary situation, until the capital evaporates completely and there is no need for control?