At a ceremony honoring retired military personnel on the 82nd anniversary of Lebanon’s independence, Head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) MP Gebran Bassil said the gathering was not only a commemoration of independence, but also an occasion to pay tribute to those who fought repeatedly to preserve a reclaimed, and at times lost, sovereignty.He said the event aimed to recall the story of a nation built on the sacrifices of its soldiers and of generations who struggled for independence.Bassil believed that the recent developments involving the Lebanese Army and its commander represented “the peak of political neglect” and “a political betrayal” of the institution.According to him, this underscored the army’s urgent need for internal support from its own population rather than confrontation.He believes the army requires protection from the people in order to protect them in return.Bassil condemned attempts to blame political failures on the army, burden it with responsibilities without resources, use it in domestic power games, subject it to fabricated accusations from abroad, or leave it alone to face national crises.He stressed that the army “is not alone,” saying that both he and the Lebanese public stand with the military institution.He then said they would not allow militias to re-emerge and target the army, recalling the same groups that once aimed their weapons at it internally and now target it externally through hostile rhetoric and reports.Bassil accused them of being the same corrupt actors who once acted against former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, former President Michel Aoun, and against him personally.He claimed that they had contributed to imposing sanctions against him.They are currently acting against President Joseph Aoun and the Lebanese Army in Washington.According to him, those who claim to support the army must understand that this militia has been lobbying against the military institution for years, moving through congressional offices and organizing lawmakers to halt military assistance.He accused them of lying when they speak of exclusive weapons for the army, saying that they prefer weapons to be destroyed, diverted, or even sent to Iran, so long as the Lebanese Army does not receive them.He described these acts as a sectarian pretext.Bassil stressed that their role is to keep the army weak, unarmed, and reduced to observing militia-style behavior as it did during the civil war.He then explained that official records and timelines, including those dating back to the tenure of former Ambassador Gabi Issa and the most recent chargé d’affaires in Washington, document years of efforts to poison opinion against the army.Bassil warned that these groups seek to exhaust the military, deprive it of capacity, and drive it into internal confrontation with its own citizens and officers.He said they want the army to implement an externally imposed agenda rather than develop a national defense strategy jointly with the government.Under such a strategy, he argued, the army would hold exclusive authority over weapons, maintain unified military command, and ensure that political decision-making rests with the Lebanese state, not with hostile states, distant allies, or neighboring countries.The ultimate authority, he said, must belong to Lebanon, its people, its dignity, and its army.Bassil then said independence is not merely a historical anniversary but an ongoing responsibility requiring preservation and continuity.Safeguarding independence, he noted, is more difficult than securing it.He said independence has been forged by three generations: those who fought under their ancestors; those who inherited independence and continue to defend it; and those who will inherit today’s struggle to build a better future.“Although these generations may be divided in time, they are bound together by a sacred duty: preserving the independence,” he said.Bassil then talked about the wartime generation.He said this generation was the one that wrested independence from mandates, occupations, and foreign tutelage at a time when Lebanon had no protective shield.They carried arms to defend threatened territory, held their ground when everything collapsed, and acted as the country’s shield.Without their resilience, he said, the homeland would have fallen.They are not only part of the army’s history, he added, but part of the FPM’s history as well.He recalled that the FPM itself was born from the army, during the era of General Michel Aoun, who carried the nation when others abandoned it.Bassil said the FPM’s political history and its national roots are a source of pride, noting that it defended the country not merely through statements but through honorable positions.This, he added, mirrors the path of the national army, which remained steadfast despite hunger, scarce resources, and political abandonment.Bassil then described today’s generation as “a resilient generation”.He said it neither chose nor caused the collapse but found itself on the front line without firing a single shot.This generation never turned its weapons against the country and consistently confronted foreign aggressors.Yet it is now facing battles more difficult than war: economic collapse, currency crisis, displacement, refugee pressures, emigration, and a country that needs those who remain, even as its youth can neither stay nor leave.Bassil claimed Lebanon is collapsing under a political–financial system that rejects accountability and reform.He said promises of reform have instead resulted in the release of the head of the financial establishment, whom he accused of stealing the Lebanese people’s money.He criticized the conditions of Riad Salameh’s detention and release, contrasting it with the treatment of ordinary citizens and even one of his own ministers, who was reportedly fined $14 for protecting public funds.He argued that “their corruption” is represented by the $14 million bail linked to Salameh, and that such failures endanger Lebanon’s youth.He cited three major challenges: the Syrian displacement crisis and what he described as the government’s misleading figures and ineffective plans; the Palestinian refugee crisis and the government’s alleged misinformation regarding weapons in the camps, highlighted by the killing of Elio and an Israeli strike on a Palestinian faction’s leadership meeting; and the issue of poorly controlled borders, where armed groups operate near Syria and an Israeli army occupies the southern frontier.Meanwhile, self-styled sovereigns refuse to condemn Israel’s construction of a concrete wall inside Lebanese territory.Bassil accused these groups of calling themselves sovereign and opposition while, in reality, being “minor agents” and report-writers for their political sponsors.He believes they participate in government, appoint officials, divide spoils, and still label themselves opposition.He warned that today’s generation cannot simply be abandoned while Lebanon’s demographic balance shifts and nearly half its residents are non-citizens without any national decision, and with the state’s silence or complicity.Speaking about demographics, Bassil said Lebanon now hosts the highest refugee concentration in the world, a situation the country cannot bear.Meanwhile, he noted, the United States, Germany, and Europe have begun returning Syrians, while Lebanon’s government remains passive, negotiating for detainee releases rather than insisting on the return of Lebanese displaced.He said Lebanon also has the world’s highest ratio of diaspora to residents, yet the government seeks to strip them of voting rights regained in 2018.He criticized the handling of expatriate registration, saying the low turnout reflected the government’s failure and the public’s distrust.He said the government lacks reform, financial, or economic plans, lacks a credible budget, and has no strategy for returning depositors’ money.Today’s generation, he continued, is exhausted from neglect but not from its loyalty. Lebanon is inherently resilient, still fighting despite external pressures.It is a generation expected to bear every burden while receiving nothing, similarly to the army.Bassil reiterated that freedom, sovereignty, and independence are responsibilities rather than gifts.He said there can be no state without an independent judiciary, no economy without reform, and no sovereignty without a free national decision. He added that the return of Syrian displaced people and Palestinian refugees is a national priority, not an expression of racism, but a matter of Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian rights.He warned that resettlement would mark the end of Lebanon, and said diversity and justice are national strengths, while isolation would undermine the country.He said Lebanon must preserve all its 10,452 km², because any smaller Lebanon would become a fragmented mini-state.He added that a strong Lebanon is a guarantee for all, and a strong army is the protection of all.He said the army must control territory and weapons and lead a national defense strategy that preserves the resistance’s arms within the state and restores national decision-making to state institutions.In such a framework, the state itself becomes the collective force defending Lebanon and regional stability.Bassil concluded by addressing the generation of the future, composed of children and grandchildren who have not yet entered the arenas of struggle or decision-making.He said they deserve to inherit the land handed down from their forefathers and shaped by the dreams of future generations.They should not begin from zero, he said, but from a foundation of memory, history, struggle, steadfastness, and dignity.He believes they must inherit a state with expanded decentralization instead of failed centralization, reliable electricity, and an economy based on production rather than rent and consumption; and safeguarded oil and gas wealth rather than resources “sold off” over six years, as he claimed the current ministry had done.They must inherit the foundations of a capable, transparent, modern, and non-sectarian state; one that resists for the sake of all its people, rather than being replaced by resistance.A state that incorporates the Resistance into its institutions and unifies national decision-making under constitutional structures.As for the retired soldiers, Bassil said their role does not end with their retirement.“Your service does not end here. That is why we are creating an organizational framework within the movement to unite your experience, your discipline, and your principles. It begins with your uniform and extends to collective efforts that safeguard your rights from the state and protect your interests in the homeland. The movement deeply needs your expertise and your patriotism,” he concluded. Read more