Parliament Approves General Amnesty Law

Parliament approved the general amnesty law in today's session.

National Assembly members from the "Strong Lebanon" bloc and the "Faith to Resistance" coalition withdrew from the session due to the absence of Minister of National Defense Michel Nasr, who was supposed to deliver the army's statement.

Subsequently, Member of Parliament Suleiman Aoun from the "Strong Lebanon" bloc stated: "The Minister of Defense is being prevented from presenting the Lebanese Army's opinion and his ministry's position. Our withdrawal today is to avoid bearing responsibility for such a violation while we were present."

He asked: "What prevents us from hearing an opinion that is not binding on us or anyone else, nor binding on the government?", adding: "We acknowledge that the head of government speaks on behalf of the government, but this bill did not originate from the government, meaning it does not represent the government's stance."

In turn, MP Ibrahim al-Musawi said: "We withdrew for the same reasons that members of the Free Patriotic Movement withdrew—no one should prevent a minister from expressing his opinion."

He also addressed the media law, stating: "I made every effort to delay voting on this law and return it to joint committees for further study. This law contains many positive aspects, but still includes numerous loopholes."

He added: "We are determined to amend and revise the media law, and we will initiate a move to gather all suitable amendments and propose changes that accommodate everyone."

MP Simon Abi-Ramia said: "We oppose turning general amnesty into a substitute for justice." He argued that the most dangerous aspect of the general amnesty is that it sends a message to all Lebanese: 'Don't fear the law, as a political settlement may come tomorrow to exempt you from your actions.' This logic must end."

Meanwhile, MP Balaal Abdullah viewed the approval of the general amnesty as a significant achievement credited to the Parliament, the Democratic Gathering, and the Prime Minister.

He noted that Parliament has achieved a historic milestone today by exempting a large number of people across Lebanon, emphasizing that the general amnesty law has a national and humanitarian character before any sectarian or religious one.

As for MP Emad al-Hout, he said: "The Prime Minister expressed the government's position, so there is no issue here. I hope no problem is created where none exists. The Minister of Defense was not prevented from conveying the army's opinion during the law's discussion."

In turn, MP Adnan Trablsi thanked Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nouf Salam for their relentless efforts, saying: "We stand for justice and for lifting injustice, and today what we aimed for has been achieved."

MP Ghazi Zeiter argued that the general amnesty law is unbalanced and unjust, asserting that a constitutional violation was committed yesterday against the Minister of Defense.

A speech was delivered by Deputy Speaker MP Elias Bou Saab, who said: "There is a military institution whose decision and opinion must be respected. This institution speaks on behalf of martyrs from all sects. Anyone claiming that a specific minister represents a particular sect is mistaken."

Bou Saab considered it a wrong and unconstitutional decision to repeatedly prevent the Minister of Defense from speaking at the request of the Prime Minister. He said: "Why were all other ministers allowed to speak today, but only the Minister of Defense was barred?" He added: "Today we are not facing a government decision, but rather a draft law being discussed in Parliament, and Parliament has the right to invite whomever it wishes to hear."

Regarding the approved amnesty law, Bou Saab said: "The amnesty law enacted today was pursued with great effort, and we endured what was unbearable. I especially thank the MPs who worked on it and were unfairly accused." He added: "We agreed on the amnesty law today for the sake of closing a chapter. The government is responsible for addressing injustices and can reinitiate trials and correct discrimination."

Also speaking, MP Faisal Karami welcomed the long-awaited amnesty law, saying: "The law has finally been passed, and I congratulate families who waited so long. There are detainees and accused individuals outside prisons who will now be tried outside prison."

He added: "Our main struggle is to establish a fair and impartial judiciary so we won’t have to return to Parliament every time to pass an amnesty law for wrongly imprisoned individuals who haven’t been tried."