Strong Republic Bloc: Security Does Not Come by Consensus, We Reject Inflation of Civil Peace

Member of the "Strong Republic" bloc, MP Saad Al-Assmar, affirmed that "the speech by Army Commander Rodolphe Heykal needs correction, as the military leadership is not authorized to decide whether or not to implement after the issuance of the government decision, and we are questioning him about the delay in implementation," stating: "Security does not come by consensus."

Al-Assmar considered, in an interview with MTV, that "the duo of Hezbollah and Amal is satisfied with the non-implementation of government decisions and uses civil peace as a 'umbrella' to escape their implementation. Punishing those who violate security is not a threat to civil peace, and enough with inflating this talk. We cannot remain as false witnesses in the government," noting that "we are boycotting attendance at government sessions and do not want to withdraw," asking: "If the Lebanese Forces withdraw, who will be the first beneficiary? The Party certainly. Minister Joe Saddi, despite his boycott, is still working, plans are ongoing and will see the light within two years, and we will not say 'they didn't let us,' and we will achieve what we want."

Regarding the arrest of elements from "the Party" between Batroun and Bsharri, he clarified that "this is not an isolated operation and we must look at the picture from afar. It starts with smuggling an explosives shipment, and 'we haven't caught anyone with a matchstick,' and 'if someone doesn't have a driving license, we make a story out of it.' So what are we waiting for? For another Gibran Tueni to die?"

He stressed that "the presence of security groups in areas that are not their environment threatens civil peace, and we will not accept or remain silent before referring the file to the Justice Council."