What Did MPs Geagea and Touq Ask the Ministers of Interior and Defense?

MPs Strida Touq Geagea and Melhem Touq issued the following statement:

"Following serious security information revealed regarding the arrest of five individuals suspected of belonging to 'Hezbollah', in a mountainous area overlapping between the districts of Bsharri and Batroun, and reports about documents and papers found in their possession which they tore up, containing names of groups, distribution of elements, and military and security-related information, the two MPs consider that what happened cannot be treated as an ordinary security incident or overlooked, given the serious and worrying questions it raises concerning the safety and well-being of citizens, and the existence of organized security activity in the area where the suspects were arrested.

According to circulating information, a patrol from the Bsharri Gendarmerie branch suspected five individuals moving through a mountainous area located between the districts of Bsharri and Batroun. It turned out that one of them was from the town of Zgharta Al-Mutawila in the Batroun district, while the others hailed from Bint Jbeil, Khyam, Tyre, and North Bekaa. When the patrol approached them, they reportedly attempted to tear up papers they had with them, remnants of which were later found inside the car they were occupying.

The most alarming aspect of the published information is that these papers, according to security sources, include names of people distributed into groups, references to the 'Rashkida Group' and the 'Koura Group', as well as descriptions of weapons, including the word 'snipers'. Additionally, it was reported that

the five individuals moved around without mobile phones, leaving their phones in a residential apartment in the town of Bnahran in the Koura district, confirming they are a security group. These data, despite their seriousness, remain under investigation, and we are not preempting what the judiciary will establish regarding them. However, their convergence imposes questions that do not tolerate delay or ambiguous answers: What were these individuals doing in that specific area? Why were they moving in this manner? What was the nature of the documents they tried to destroy? And why do they contain, according to published information, names of Lebanese towns, organized groups, and references to sniper weapons? Who tasked them with this mission, on whose behalf were they operating, and what was the actual purpose of their presence there?

The issue here goes beyond the identity of those arrested and the place of their arrest, raising a very serious national question: Are we facing reconnaissance movements or organized security preparations targeting safe Lebanese areas or specific persons therein? The mere existence of serious suspicions in this direction obliges the competent authorities to act immediately and decisively, because protecting citizens' lives and preventing any potential threat to civil peace are not matters subject to political discretion or compromises and balances, but rather a legal and constitutional duty at the core of the responsibilities of the state and its security, military, and judicial institutions.

In this context, MPs Geagea and Touq stress that responsibility, if organized security activity is proven, cannot be limited to the elements who were arrested in the field, but must extend to anyone proven to have planned, tasked, directed, funded, facilitated, or participated in preparing for any illegal act.

Therefore, MPs Geagea and Touq demand that the Ministers of Interior and National Defense, each within their respective powers, take immediate and necessary measures, and coordinate fully with the competent judiciary, to expand investigations by the Information Branch. They also demand that the competent judicial authorities follow up on this file until all circumstances are clarified and individual and organizational responsibilities are determined, if proven, and pursue anyone evidence shows is involved, regardless of their position or affiliation, while informing public opinion of the facts and results that the law and investigation requirements allow to be disclosed. While the MPs express appreciation to the members of the Bsharri Gendarmerie branch for their vigilance and initiative in arresting the suspects, they confirm that the importance of this security achievement also lies in the comprehensive and serious investigation that must follow.

MPs Geagea and Touq hold the relevant political, security, and military authorities fully responsible, each within their powers, for taking all necessary steps to uncover the truth and protect citizens. In conclusion, the MPs affirm that the security of Bsharri, like the security of every Lebanese area, is not permissible for anyone, and that the state alone is responsible for protecting Lebanese territory and its inhabitants. There can be no areas where the law applies and others where it is exempted, nor entities subject to accountability and others above it. What is required today is not verbal reassurances or political justifications, but the full truth being uncovered, responsibilities being defined, and the law being applied to everyone without exception. The safety of Lebanese people is not subject to compromise, and their security is not a detail. We will not accept our safe areas becoming a theater for any illegitimate security activity, no matter who stands behind it. We will follow up on this file until the complete truth is revealed, because our people have the right to know what was happening in their area, and it is the duty of the state to answer them and protect them.