Bill Proposed to Grant Justice to Military Personnel of the 'Arab Lebanese Army'

Parliamentary Health Committee Chairman and "Democratic Gathering" MP Bilal Abdullah announced that he has submitted a bill to Speaker Nabih Berri, aiming to regularize the status of former Lebanese Armed Forces personnel and retire them, particularly those who joined what was known as the "Arab Lebanese Army," and to secure their due pension rights and those of their heirs.

Abdullah stated, after chairing the first meeting of the subcommittee formed from joint committees to discuss the bill regulating the optometry profession, that "the situations of various forces and military personnel who experienced divisions during the period from 1975 to the 1990s were settled, "except for one group whose case was neglected under the pretext of dealing with Palestinians, while other files were closed and everyone's situations were addressed."
He added: This file remained excluded due to a "veto" imposed by the former Syrian regime, despite internal Lebanese understanding to resolve it.
He stressed that continuing to deprive hundreds of families, distributed across various Lebanese regions, of their rights is unacceptable on humanitarian and national grounds, recalling the late commander of the "Arab Lebanese Army," Ahmad Al-Khatib, who died without receiving justice.

The proposal includes officers, sergeants, corporals, and privates who were in active service in the Lebanese Army, then left it and joined military formations during the Lebanese events and were not returned to service, in addition to cases covered by its conditions involving individuals against whom dismissal or expulsion decisions were issued without following legal procedures and required steps.

The proposal stipulates the automatic retirement of military personnel covered by its provisions effective January 1, 2015, and the settlement of their pension rights based on the rank of Brigadier General for officers, First Sergeant for sergeants, and Corporal for corporals and privates, in accordance with current laws and regulations regarding military pensions.

It also proposes establishing a special committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, the Army Command, the Ministry of Finance, and the General Directorate of Personal Status, tasked with identifying beneficiaries, verifying their military status, ranks, service durations, and the legality of decisions issued against them, and determining their rights and the rights of eligible heirs of deceased persons.

It sets a one-year deadline from the publication of the implementing decree for submitting applications, allowing reliance on official records and legally accepted means of proof when original documents are lost due to war circumstances. It also stipulates that eligible heirs benefit from pensions or differences according to current laws, with the possibility of installment payments for differences and prohibiting the combination of pensions or compensation for the same service.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the proposal aims to address the situation of a group that remained deprived of regularization despite similar circumstances to military personnel who benefited from previous treatments, given the advanced age of those concerned, the death of some of them, and the practical impossibility of returning them to service. Its effects are limited to settling pension and financial rights, without constituting a return to active service or creating a right to promotion or appointment, or amnesty for crimes established by final judicial rulings.

Abdullah called on the government, parliamentary blocs, and the military institution to "deal with the proposal with a single national and humanitarian standard, leading to the final closure of the page of internal wars and justice."

Regarding the optometry regulation bill, Abdullah noted that discussions focused on professional standards and public health protection.