Free Patriotic Movement: Boycotting to Get More Money Is Not the Solution

The Political Council of the "Free Patriotic Movement" concluded its regular meeting chaired by MP Gebran Bassil, addressing "the new chapter in the electricity file drama represented by Energy Minister Joe Sadik's boycott of attending cabinet sessions." The Council noted that "the minister who wasted $700 million from Electricite du Liban's assets and failed to provide electricity is pressuring for more government support to buy fuel. He returns to the policy of subsidizing the electricity sector in a disguised manner under the pretext of state institutions settling their dues to Electricite du Liban, amounting to $300 million, as if this institution is separate from the state which will pay these funds at a time when the $300 million will change nothing significant in supply increase, given the ministry's current policy."

It considered that "the solution lies in operating power generation plants, especially the new Zouk and Jieh plants, and not boycotting to get more money from the government to support the electricity sector and fuel cartels." It clarified that "the Energy Minister acknowledged the additional cost borne by citizens, which he himself estimated at $240 million per hour of outage, meaning Lebanese people are charged over $5 billion annually for private generators. This itself reveals the ministry's policy of privatizing electricity for the benefit of large generator owners. Furthermore, the minister made unilateral decisions regarding private generator tariffs and increased fees on gasoline for station owners and fuel importers, costing Lebanese citizens $500 million annually, which will be subject to pursuit by the Movement."

The Council added: "On the anniversary of October 7, the Movement reminds Lebanese people to learn from history's experiences. Political solidarity with Palestinian rights does not permit any party to bypass the state and its exclusive right to declare war or not, and to protect Lebanon. The three years and the Israeli aggression against Gaza and Lebanon during that period confirm the need for peaceful solutions based on respecting peoples' right to self-determination. Therefore, the Movement's position is summarized in solidarity with Palestine, but it rejects linking Lebanon's fate to any war outside its state's decision. The Free Patriotic Movement is studying the draft budget law submitted by the government to Parliament days ago and will have a detailed stance on it, but its initial indicators show it is an accounting budget, not reformist, lacking any economic vision, and financed by taxes targeting low-income earners."

It concluded: "A conspiracy to keep Syrian refugees in Lebanon repeats at the Ministry of Education level. While the ministry closes several public schools citing spending savings, it leaves rented schools open but prevents Lebanese from registering their children there, opening registration to Syrian students instead. It is the same spiral of disguised settlement that begins with registering Syrian students conditional on securing necessary papers later, then opens the door to exams conditional on securing papers later, and ends the drama by granting certificates conditional on securing necessary papers, while failing to secure these papers every year so the registration series restarts next year. Thus, Syrian students continue learning in our public schools while our Lebanese students are displaced from them."