Head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, held Saturday before noon a press conference, in which he tackled the latest developments in Lebanon.
MP Bassil, who appeared live from his residence in Laqlouq, considered that Lebanon is going through the most dangerous economic crisis in its history, and Lebanon cannot be established in light of the corruption that exists today.
“Without reforms, there will be no money or rise, and reforms have become of equal importance as restoring people’s money, or at least partially compensating them,” he said.
“There will be no salvation if the reform judge does not win over the corrupt judge, and what is happening today is an attempt to prevent a judge from reaching the truth because she decided to disclose the amount of money transferred abroad and the identity of its owners,” Bassil added.
“Judge Ghada Aoun is not corrupt and does not fabricate files; no one can stop her or blame her and she does not follow anyone in her work, that’s why they want to get rid of her,” MP Bassil went on.
He also noted that FPM does not support a judge, but a case, saying: “We support the case of recovering the funds of the Lebanese that were smuggled abroad in an immoral and discretionary manner.”
Bassil accused the political system and some media outlets in Lebanon of trying to prevent Judge Ghada Aoun from completing her interrogations.
“What we know is that the state with most of its agencies, the judiciary with most of its elements, and the media with most of its means, are trying to prevent Judge Ghada Aoun from completing her investigations,” he stressed.
“We understand what they are doing because we have the same experience. Reform is forbidden, fighting corruption is forbidden, and stopping the gains of the corrupt system is forbidden. Otherwise, you will be accused of corruption and be assassinated ‘morally,’ and this is what is happening with Judge Aoun,” he went on.
The FPM leader asked everyone who criticized Judge Ghada Aoun’s moves: “How can you see Ghada Aoun as a rebel against the judiciary and you don’t see the Central Bank rebelling against the forensic audit?”
He stressed that “the thief is afraid of examining and scrutinizing the files, while the innocent is happy with that,” emphasizing that the Free Patriotic Movement seems comfortable when appearing before the court.
“Has the Lebanese judiciary carried out all its duties and all the required measures in the case filed by the Swiss judiciary against the governor of the Central Bank? This is a question we want an answer to,” Bassil added.
“I, Gebran Bassil and the former ministers of the FPM, challenge them to carry out a forensic audit in the Ministry of Energy since the 90s!,” he challenged his opponents.
Bassil called on Europe, if it is serious about continuing reform in Lebanon, to put pressure on the corrupt on the basis of evidence and in accordance with international agreements and laws on combating corruption, money laundering and smuggling, and not based on political calculations.
Government Formation
Commenting on the faltering formation of the government, Bassil accused some political counterparts of demanding half plus one minister, in order to dominate the government’s decisions.
The former Minister lambasted PM-designate Saad Hariri for failing to reach a consensus with the President of the Republic to form the government.
If he does not want to recuse and the President will not resign of course, and if the Parliament does not want to withdraw his designation, then there is only one case to think about, which is the resignation of the Parliament, which means early elections, but will early elections change the equation?,” he underscored.
Source: NNA
