Defense Minister to Families of Martyrs: I Apologize

Issued by National Defense Minister Michel Moussa:

"I apologize, O families of the martyrs, O those who sacrificed their dearest ones for the homeland. I apologize because I stood before your pain and had nothing worthy of the magnitude of your sacrifices.

I apologize because the blood of your sons is a trust upon our necks, and because I was unable to protect their rights as they deserve, nor was I able to raise the army’s voice when it needed to be heard—silence reigned in the Parliament, and only the voices of the martyrs remained loud within me.

I apologize even though an apology cannot bring back a martyr, nor erase a mother’s tears, nor fill the void left by a father, brother, or son who departed while fulfilling his duty.

And I apologize because, no matter my position, I feel today that I have let you down—but I promise you:

that the blood of the martyrs will remain in my conscience, that the army will remain in my voice and my stance, and that I will defend its right to speak, just as your sons defended Lebanon with their lives.

I apologize to you… not out of fear of your reproach, but out of respect for the blood of your sons. I apologize because I saw how voices united behind the army’s voice, and how positions aligned when what was needed was protection—not suppression.

I saw those who belittle the institution that bore the burdens of the nation, and I saw others rally behind it when attempts were made to silence it—as if the army’s voice had become a burden, and the blood of the martyrs had become a mere detail in some calculations.

I apologize because I was unable to say before you what should have been said, and to raise the voice of the institution that never lowered its voice before danger.

Yesterday, the army was silenced, but the blood of its martyrs was not silenced in my conscience.

Let those who ignored the army know: the army is not a party in a dispute, nor a card to be used and discarded. The army is the last remaining trust this nation has, and those of its sons who fell as martyrs never asked Lebanon at that moment: To whom do we belong?

They asked: How can we protect it?

And I apologize to the martyrs before their families, because I failed to make their voices heard as their blood deserves.

But I promise them: silence will not be our fate, and yesterday’s betrayal will not be the end of the story."