MP Salim Sayegh: Lebanon's victory in the battle for Army Commander's extension

MP Salim Sayegh affirmed that due to the inability to convene a session of the Cabinet for political calculations, the hesitation of some ministers, and the boycott of the session by some from the Free Patriotic Movement and others to decide on the extension of the term of the army commander, which falls under the authority of the government, the initiative was taken by the Parliament.

This article was initially published in, translated from the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba.

To avoid a vacuum in the military institution and due to national security necessities, the Parliament secured the quorum and approved a law proposal to extend the term of Army Commander Joseph Aoun for one year.

Sayegh told Al-Anba that the extension battle was a victory for Lebanon and the military institution that protects the country in these circumstances.

He considered the bets of Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil to be ineffective and based on a simplistic understanding of the Lebanese reality.

In addition, Sayegh emphasized that the biggest ally in this battle was Bassil, as he personalized the issue by making accusations against the army commander and insulting his dignity.

Sayegh found that in doing so, Bassil insulted the youngest soldier in the Lebanese army, which is unacceptable, and he considered him to have pinned a badge of honor on the chest of the army commander when he described him as disloyal.

Sayegh pointed out that the legislative exception that occurred in Parliament regarding the extension proposal for the army commander proves the rule that legislation is not allowed in the absence of the President.

Moreover, he mentioned, "We agreed with the rest of the opposition factions on this issue, and we also communicated our position to everyone, including the army leadership, that if the matter were decided to be decided in the Parliament, our position would be clear."

Therefore, the MPs of the Kataeb party only entered the public hall when the extension proposal was put to a vote. And then they left the hall.

Regarding Hezbollah's position on the extension of the army commander's term, Sayegh revealed high-level contacts in Hezbollah that took place in the last moments while the session was being held with some MPs affiliated with the resistance team to withdraw from the session to set a quorum without any response.

The battle was not a voting battle but rather a battle of quorum, and Hezbollah did not leave any of its MPs in the hall so that its message would be clear that it was against the extension.

Sayegh confirmed in response to a question that there is a significant external concern for Lebanon. There has been international consensus that Lebanon should not be left open to security risks given the possibilities that no one desires.

This is because, in the end, there is no alternative to the Lebanese army playing its role as a security reference. Otherwise, what is the alternative? The alternative is chaos, contrary to the belief of some that Hezbollah is the alternative, which is not valid. Therefore, the choice for external powers was between extension and chaos.

As for whether the extension will pave the way for serious consideration of the presidential file and the promotion of the army commander as a presidential candidate, Sayegh explained that the extension issue should be separated from marketing the army commander as a candidate.

"It is early to discuss that. Rather, we should focus on utilizing the parliamentary atmosphere accompanying the extension session and finding an internal solution. This could involve agreeing on a compromise president or holding sessions until the elections because no president can come without a sufficient cross-sectarian consensus," Sayegh continued.

Furthermore, Sayegh expressed the hope that the extension battle would convince Hezbollah that it cannot bet on the alliance with MP Gebran Bassil, which he is increasingly revealing.

"The party needs a broad national alliance to protect Lebanon's situation, return to the state's project, and avoid deviating from the state. Relying on small alliances and dualities to undermine the will of a large part of the Lebanese population is very harmful to the party," Sayegh added.

Sayegh affirmed that Hezbollah needs the army deployed in the south to fulfill its role, while the party's actions create a hostile environment that can only be changed by altering its approach to Lebanese affairs.

"Therefore, all of us must search for a president with broad acceptability, similar to what happened in the extension matter," Sayegh said.