Good evening to you,
It is Ehden’s evening… Zgharta-Zawiyat’s evening…

The evening of loyalty… The evening during which loyal ones get together, like it happens between us each year…
Loyalty to Zgharta-Zawiyat… Loyalty to Lebanon… Loyalty to the principles and constants from which we will never deviate, no matter how big the sacrifices that we have to bear are, no matter how times might change… Yes, we will never deviate, just like those who were before us never did.

Development

An evening that comes under the theme of development, as we are gathered here at the yearly dinner organised by the Association of Social Aid (AES), the twin-sister association to the René Moawad Foundation. I am very proud to say that we have succeeded in building a foundation that not only makes Zgharta-Zawiyat proud, but all of Lebanon. International associations can’t stop praising its professionalism and transparency.

It is a foundation that holds the name of Martyr-President René Moawad. An NGO that succeeded to position itself outside any political, regional or confessional boundary, and to implement projects in Bent Jbeil (The extreme South of Lebanon) as in Akkar (Extreme North), in the Bekaa valley (East) as on the littoral (West)… All for a single objective: “That the Lebanese individual stays in his land.”

This is our understanding of development: The development of Lebanon the nation, the society and the human being. Development is a right, not a favour that is granted. Development is not a slogan. Development is above all a commitment on ethics. It is a decision to take; an action to execute. And we all do know very well how much Zgharta-Zawiyat is in need of such development… how much it is in need of decisions and of actions!!!

The first condition for true development is to move it away from politics. When politics come in, real development is no more. It simply becomes a way to recruit and subdue people. It becomes a network of interests, clientelism and benefits… It can then be called anything you like, but not ‘development’.

The Municipality

When I stood here a year ago amongst you and explained in an exhaustive way the reason why we as the Independence Movement decided to be part of coalitions for the Zgharta-Zawiyat municipality, the municipalities in villages and towns in Zawiyat, and at the Union of Municipalities level, our ambitions were high and justified. They were as big as the best of what we wish for our city and our region. Since many years now, our region has suffered from deprivation due to monopolies and exploitation; due to corruption, clientelism and favouritism.

What was the result of all of this? It was that a small minority were gaining benefits at the expenses of all of us, whatever our political belonging is. There was a complete absence of projects and development; complete negligence.
Instead of Zgharta-Zawiyat being admired by all the Lebanese for its touristic, agricultural, environmental, economic and social activities, it became a deprived region despite the immense potentials and capacities that it has.

We entered a large municipal agreement in which we were joined by most of the political, social and civil powers in Zgharta-Zawiyat. We as the Independence Movement opened our hands to the other party with optimism. In fact, since a long time, our hands have been open, for what is beneficial for Zgharta-Zawiyat’s and for Lebanon … This is René Moawad’s heritage, which we carry with care.

We stretched our hands and met the other party based on clear basis that we set together, and based on an agreement most of which was not announced publicly.
But unfortunately, we were later surprised that the 2^nd party, which always claims that it honours its word, didn’t respect the least of its commitments in the agreement.

What I am saying is not targeting anyone in a ‘personal’ way. We never had any personal problem with anyone. I care very much for the relationship that I have forged with Toni Frangieh. I insist on preserving and maintaining the personal friendship that has formed between us, despite political differences. But keeping silence about unfairness is not good. We never kept silence in similar situations in the past. Therefore, we are not going to make any compromises that would affect the future of the Zgharta-Zawiyat people, the future of our children, their right for development and for a decent life, the right for each one of you to live on this land with freedom and dignity.
We take this as a responsibility… a duty towards you all.

What I am saying is not just slogans. Let me make it clearer: Today municipalities and municipal unions have become a main player in development. And any development that a municipality wants to do is to be financed either by international donor-associations which demand professionalism, transparency and institutionalization, or from the municipal finances which means the people’s pockets.

These funds are either spent on development, or on clientelism and favouritism. They cannot be spent on both at the same time. This principle was a foundation to the coalition that we made with the other party. We also agreed on the necessity of reforms. This was repeated over and over again.
But after the elections, when we asked for this to be implemented, we only got promises that were always followed by a variety of excuses that repudiate these promises… When I brought this matter to Minister Suleiman Frangieh – more than once – in particular in relation with the agreement about the Union of Municipalities presidency, he replied to me personally that in case we don’t agree on a political alliance in the coming Parliamentary Elections, he would want to keep the Union under his wing as an electoral ‘working tool for him’.

This is how they insist on keeping the local institutions and authorities, as electoral and political ‘working tools’… instead of allowing them to play their role of development that would benefit all the people of Zgharta-Zawiyat. And you ask about development?!

Isn’t it what happened for instance in the Rachiine River case? Isn’t it what they tried to do? The Union of Municipalities, instead of putting the needed efforts to remove the harm, was busy issuing false statements in the name of non-existing entities to claim achievements that were not real. The goal behind this was narrow politics. But eventually, the truth was revealed, and we will keep moving forward with our work until the full pollution problem of the Rachiine River is solved, and the region recovers its touristic and agricultural status in the Zgharta-Zawiyat Caza. We want the people of the region to be able to live again in full tranquillity, to drink safe waters, grow their crops and earn their livelihood with serenity. This is the least of our duties. All of us are concerned about this.

And please, allow me to make a single request to the President of the Union: Kindly do your duties and send your bulldozers to clean the river’s stream so that we can speed the execution of the project. Enough excuses, alibis and obstructions, all used for obvious political reasons!

I repeat again: We have no personal problems with anyone, neither Minister Frangieh, nor our friend Toni Frangieh, nor the President of the Union, nor the Mayor of Zgharta-Ehden, nor anyone… All we seek is what is for Zgharta-Zawiyat’s good; what benefits all our families in Zgharta-Zawiyat. Nothing more!

Municipal Opposition

This is the reason, the only reason, that pushed the representatives of the Independence Movement at the municipality committee to start an opposition from within. This opposition is a constructive opposition, not a negative one; an opposition from inside exerting scrutiny and accountability, not blocking the work. They accuse us of obstructing the work simply to hide their failure and their commissions… Someone please tell me how can a minority in the municipal committee obstruct the work?! Our opposition is to bring about reforms. It is to bring an end to the old system. It is an opposition to anything that does not respect transparency. An opposition to fight clientelism and to impose the application of laws, to apply the Labour Law on everyone and to publicize the financial reports after properly auditing them, to impose the respect to the bids and tenders procedures on all purchases and to have clear criteria for fixing the municipal taxes where all the citizens are treated equally.

To make it short, it is an opposition to institutionalize the Zgharta municipality and turn it into an institution for development working with transparency to serve all the Zgharta and Ehden citizens without differentiation and favouritism.

This is how the Independence Movement is assessing the situation. This was the basis of our agreement with the El Marada Movement. We will not allow that the municipal work gets politicised, and that our opposition gets politicised.

Each time the municipality makes an achievement, we will stand by its side and congratulate it. Each time it commits a mistake, we will use all public, media, legal and judiciary means to correct the mistake. Let everyone take our words seriously. We will apply this both at the Zgharta-Ehden municipality level and the Union’s level.
Let everyone hear us well, and properly understand this.

Politics

Just as my words were clear in the development subject, what I will say in the political subject will be clear too, and even clearer… In the midst of the present times of inconstancy and changes in political alignments, we in the Independence Movement remain faithful to our political line, but at the same time we are always keeping our hands open for dialogue and interaction with everyone. The foundation of our political framework is the trilogy of ‘Sovereignty, Partnership and Reforms’. This, and no other, is the True ‘golden trilogy’…

Sovereignty

Our position is clear in regard to sovereignty. René Moawad gave his life to safeguard Lebanon’s sovereignty. Some of our finest youth were killed with him.
We refuse any compromise on Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, and on the exclusivity of arms to be in the hands of the Lebanese Army and the State’s security forces with no exceptions. We don’t believe in any other ‘trilogy’ that is presented. No one can anymore impose any trilogy on the Lebanese people.

Our attachment to the sovereignty principle is not new. We were raised in René Moawad’s school, in Chehabism, Fouad Chehab’s school. Sovereignty is to be applied on the whole of the nation’s territories. It cannot be divided. It is the full sovereignty of the State and its public institutions on the full 10452 km2 of Lebanon’s territories.
The sovereignty of the institutions means that all the parties have to respect the Government’s political line and its Ministerial Declaration. No ministers can individually act, as they please, and decide on their own to go on foreign visits, or not go, etc.!

Partnership

But in a country like Lebanon, sovereignty is not enough. It is not enough without a balanced partnership. Otherwise it leads to some kind of hegemony.

This is the reason why we have supported and still are supporting the President of the Republic and the Christian Agreement between the Lebanese Forces and the Tayyar, despite the differences that show at the tactical level between the parties of the agreement. This agreement is strategic and can lead to reconstructing the real national partnership in Power, and bring back balance to the Taëf Agreement after years of marginalisation.

We remain faithful to the Taëf Agreement and to a balanced partnership between the various Lebanese components. These protect coexistence between the Lebanese, and moderation in the country.

As for the Christian Agreement, it has allowed us to end the Presidential vacancy and elect a President of the Republic who enjoys a prestigious status and a large representativeness, and who we are supporting. Without this agreement, it would have been impossible to reach the new Parliamentary Elections Law that is finally putting an end to the electoral steamrollers.

When we talk about the Christian Agreement we think of its long term important strategic value. We need it on a longer run, in order to be able to implement further and essential steps, like a large decentralization in the country. Its role in managing the day to day conflicts will anyway stay. But we need it to bring about for deeper changes.

For us, the Christian Agreement is not an agreement between two parties. This is why the Independence Movement has called from the beginning for its expansion to include all the Christian parties with no exceptions… even those who insist on excluding themselves. In fact the national partnership becomes stronger when it holds variety and richness.

Reforms

Now let us talk about reforms, which are not a matter of leisure anymore. If the situation remains unchanged in the country, we are heading towards a total collapse of values, before we reach the expected economic collapse.

Allow me to say that we are the party that is the most eligible to talk about reforms and about fighting corruption, as we never accepted at any time to be part of the corruption mafia. This compelled us to sell a large part of our lands and real estate, so that our hands remain clean and our decision-making remains free and not depending on anyone.

But there are foundations for reforms. I single out three foundations:

• Have an independent Judiciary Authority, able to summon even politicians to court when there are wrongdoings, corruption or an abuse of power. What we see today is political authorities thatsimply dismiss judges when the decisions and judgments are not in their favour…
• The reviving of the inspection public institutions and giving them power to intervene within every ministry. An intervention that is compulsory not optional. All public funds must be subject to prior inspection before getting approved.
• Thirdly, and it is the most important element in our understanding: The power for the people to exert a political accountability. I mean making the politicians accountable for their actions when they hold political power. Not accountable on the slogans that a politician holds when he is in the opposition or when he has certain interests. What we have seen so far are politicians that become part of the corruption when they are in power, and simply shift to making sermons about fighting corruption and about ‘chastity’ when they are in the opposition…

Zgharta-Zawiyat

Now let’s talk about Zgharta-Zawiyat, our most sacred subject. It is our number one concern, our identity, our dignity.

We don’t accept that the Zgharta-Zawiyat Caza be used in compromises, or be a substitute or a bonus in bigger political or electoral deals.

Your political struggles, your dignity and your freedom will never be seen by us as material that can be used to make compromises. These are our beliefs. Everyone knows well that we will never accept compromises in Zgharta-Zawiyat, and that we will never make compromises on Zgharta-Zawiyat. The other party is giving itself the freedom to act as it pleases outside of Zgharta-Zawiyat and make whatever choices they find favourable for them. They have no boundaries in this. Their goal is to try by all means to eliminate any other opinion in Zgharta.

They complain, claiming that there are attempts to eliminate their political presence, but the reality is that, they themselves are trying by all possible means to eliminate any other opinion in Zgharta-Zawiyat.

Here is the proof: Outside of Zgharta-Zawiyat, they accept any alliance, even alliances with no political foundations, whilst at the same time, in Zgharta-Zawiyat, they want to impose political subordination as a condition for any alliance. And then they wonder: ‘How can Michel Moawad not accept this?’ … Don’t they know that we cannot be subordinates?

When we make an alliance with the moderate Sunnis, they answer with accusations and with confessional instigation. But when they see it for their benefit, they go on a ‘pilgrimage’ to Paris and start echoing that moderation is a national need!

From 2005 to 2015, they hail the Tayyar political line and hold the slogans of ‘defending the Christians rights’. But in 2015, the same Tayyar becomes a corrupt movement, and asking for the ‘Christians rights’ becomes equal to confessional instigation.

They accuse us of betrayal when we make an alliance with the Lebanese Forces. Last June, exactly two months ago, on a memory day that concerns us all, they state that the Lebanese Forces and the Tayyar jointly killed half of the Christians. But today, after less than two months, what do we see? The possibility for them to make an alliance with the Lebanese Forces becomes legitimate! It seems that what is justified for them, isn’t for anyone else… Is this steadiness in one political line?

But in fact, this isn’t fluctuation, as in all these seemingly contradictory directions there is one common element. This one single unchanged element in their political line is that they are ready to do anything outside of Zgharta-Zawiyat to try to eliminate our presence and thus impose their sole authority in Zgharta-Zawiyat. But no matter how hard they try, no one can eliminate our presence. We won’t allow anyone to exert hegemony on Zgharta-Zawiyat.

The core elements of our political stand as the Independence Movement are: Plurality in Zgharta-Zawiyat… freedom in Zgharta-Zawiyat… partnership in Zgharta-Zawiyat… and preserving the dignity of each one of you.

For the sake of this cause, over time, we made many sacrifices. Even when we were left on our own and were stabbed, we did not compromise. We were wounded but we remained standing on our feet and steady. Many times, we stepped back and made sacrifices to preserve these core beliefs, but the times of free sacrifices are now gone… Today, things have changed and we have a new Parliamentary Elections Law. We have to strengthen the Independence Movement and win the coming elections in order to protect plurality, freedom, partnership and development in Zgharta-Zawiyat, and to be a political power that supports sovereignty, partnership, development and reforms in Lebanon.

Long live Zgharta-Zawiyat. Long live the Independence Movement. Long live Lebanon.