While U.S. negotiators in Switzerland float the idea of normalizing relations with Iran and giving it a say over the fate of our country, let’s be very clear:
Letting Iran negotiate on our behalf is suicidal. The regime will represent Hezbollah’s interests, not ours. It will give the group a vital lifeline, while Lebanon, as a modern state and diverse society, can no longer coexist with Hezbollah.
Not only because of its weapons, but also because of its ideology, its corruption, its inherent negation of free will and critical thinking, and its intrinsic opposition to the very idea of a nation called Lebanon.
We have tried this for forty years. Many believed in and supported this party during the Israeli occupation and throughout the 2006 war. That popular support is finally eroding.
Some will criticize this discourse as polarizing. Yet it is only logical, and necessary, to oppose a party built on supremacy, foreign allegiance, religious indoctrination, and the methodical destruction of institutions. A party that turned our South, and our country, into a war zone; that assassinated our prime minister and political leadership; that invaded Beirut to topple the government; that massacred thousands of innocent Syrians; that played a role in the Beirut port explosion; and that sacrificed generations of Lebanese.
There is nothing sectarian about opposing Hezbollah. Quite the opposite. Those who care about the South are the first to oppose the construction of tunnels beneath our towns and the launching of rockets from our homes, just as they oppose the systematic destruction of our villages by Israel.
We stand today at a crossroads, just as we did in 1990, when Syria took over Lebanon, and in 2008, when Hezbollah imposed its dominance for nearly two decades. These negotiations will shape our fate in the years ahead. If Iran and Hezbollah take over, we can expect more wars, more deaths, more destroyed villages, economic collapse, and mass emigration. Our country would not recover.
On the other hand, through the Washington negotiations, our political leadership can ensure that Beirut finally breaks free from Tehran’s grip, that Hezbollah is disarmed, and that our land is freed from Israeli occupation.
Now is the moment for Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam to show courage, clarity, and resolve. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮.
@HazemSaghieh
"فهو رأى أنّ العواطفَ والتعاطف،لا الحسابات العقلانيّة البحتة،أهمُّ ما يبني المجتمعات،وأنَّ من دون ذاك الشرط الشارط يتفكّك المجتمع أفراداً منعزلين لا يسعون إلّا وراء مصالح ذاتيّة ضيّقة، أو،وفق إضافة لبنانيّة، وراء طوائفَ متكارهةٍ حتّى النخاع"https://t.co/PRBdCIHyg3