The new leadership team of the Free Patriotic Movement was announced last Thursday at an event held at the Dbaye Conference centre. The leadership team comprising of new party President, Minister Gibran Bassil also consists of two vice-Presidents, Former Minister Nicolas Sahnaiou and FPM activist Romil Saber.
In a centre packed with FPM activists, the new leadership team outlined their vision for the FPM.
Following is an English translation of what was a poetic and emotional speech by new Leader Minister Gibran Bassil.
Minister Bassil’s speech:
“The General is our assurance and his resolve is for us to be each other’s assurance” We will start with ourselves, the three of us to be each other’s assurance. “We are the General's assurance and he has never sought anyassurance except from his people”.
It is up to us three to be the assurance of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and in return the FPM is likewise our security. Then will we deserve to be General’s assurance rather than he alone ours. Yes it is us, and the FPM; we are your assurance General as you have never sought anassurance except that of your people.
We will work for the FPM to be the same size as the Aounist movement and furthermore, to be the size of your great people, so that we deserve to be Great Lebanese Movement.
My colleagues,
God destined me to stand before you; to express on your behalf the FPM program, as it is larger than a party ... It is a project for a nation and a message. We are blessed to be a part of Aoun’s generation during his era, to be his messengers and to carry the cause of Lebanon.
”You have seen and have believed; blessed are those who believed and did not see". There is no merit for us if we are believers, as all the glory will come to those who come after us and believe in us without ever seeing Aoun. Shame’ all the shame, shall be on those who saw, touched and placed their fingers on and distorted the wound, yet doubted the cause to a point of treason.
The Cause
Should a cause the size of our allow itself to be doubted and manipulated? Ours is the cause in the defence of freedom, sovereignty and independence of Lebanon the cause of building a righteous nation.
It is the size (our cause for Lebanon) of the unbinding of its citizens and gainingtheir civil rights, it is the size of restoring the rights of the Christians and realizing equal participation ( in the nation); and it is the cause of preserving the existence, the role and identity of the Levant.
The Outlook
And who are we to allow ourselves to doubt? We are a Movement that is Patriotic and Free. A movement that is smaller than Lebanon;yet larger the Orient. A movement whose value is derived from its people. A movement who is the liberator of Christians and the hope of the Lebanese; and peoples of the Levant.
If you were to be absent from your struggle, the FPM will be absent…will you be absent?
If the FPM were to be absent, reformists will be absent from the state.
If the FPM were to be absent, the Christians will be absent from the Levant.
And if the FPM is absent, Lebanon will be absent… so will you be absent?
The Direction
How should we be in order to deserve the cause?We should be the builders of a strong FPM as we are the sons of (the symbol of) a strong Lebanon. We should have a strong President for our Movement just like we call for a strong President of the Republic; and desire a state in the image of a strong FPM and not for it to be in the image of its current state.
A strong movement, strongin its solidarity and commitment to democracy. A movement whose strength is sourced from its unity first and foremost.
For it alone everything else loses its value, without losing site that consensus is a form of democracy. Which is what we seek and continue to seek for the Presidency of the Republic and to always seek for the FPM without abolishing democracy.
A movement that is strong proportionally, regionally and with a National Council, to compensate our national deprivation of such. Proportionality that gives representation to all of its elements, its people, its diversity, its ideas and programs.
A movement that is strong by its Muslims and Christians, its residents and expatriates.
A movement that is strong by its internal dialogue and participation in its decision making.
A movement that is strong by its balance, checks and balances without limiting the speed by which decisions are taken.
A movement that is strong by its energy and dynamism, by toil and achievement, where there is no place for any word unless it is for motivation without insults.
A movement that is strong by its principles that rise above the authorities and by its services and strong administrative decentralization in the implementation of its works.
A strong movement, with alliances, its understandings, intentions and openness to the other.
Strengthin the principle of partnership with others; Partnership based on strength and not on weakness.
Strengthin wealth and not in poverty. In the upholding of thenational pact and the constitutionrather than in their absence.
In the construction of the FPM, we are the sons of a past and a legacy that we are proud off. We are the sons of a dream of a promising tomorrow.
We are the children of this movement with a dream, but we have to learn to build the dream ... by night we build our dreams and by day we build them in reality.
We will have a wide ranging and popular movement from our base, with a hierarchical management formed by the elites of its committed ranks. Andthere shall be in our movement a place for women, from which they take what they deserve from participation in the political life.
And our movement shall be the centre that again attracts the young people and students to be the nucleus of our struggle.
And our movement shall be a place where the diaspora acts for the benefit of a great Lebanon and its wealth. And in our movement there will be a domestic united workforce enabled to activate local development and to establish administrative decentralization and financial growth. And in our movement there will be opportunities for advancement available to all those who deserve it. There will be no preferences between our members, except on their energy, theircontributions and merit.
For those who deserve it, leadershipis theirs, there will be no quotas, and it is the responsibility of these leaders to expand participation.
Together we say: Woe to the FPM if its destiny is in the hands of the ungrateful and its say is in the hands of its weak and its leaders are it’slesser. Glory to a movement that is great when and its elders are their leaders and safeguards.
In our working mechanism:
The question is, how are we to work in order to be worthy of our leadership? We are to restore to the FPM its popular mobilisation on the basis of its strength, and the necessary conditions to achieve its demands. We are to adopt periodic accountability and objectivity in order to prevent negative productivity and create of incentives that create positive results.
We fall back on internal arbitration as a way to resolve all the problems away from opinions and subversion.
We use immediate punitive action against anyone who tarnishes the image of our pure movement.
We create ways of sustainable self-finance, mostly in orderto assure the independence of our decision making.
We create shadow ministries, internal advisory committees and interact with civil and international bodies.
And we are to remain as always, open to any and all that is constructive, remain innovative and forward thinking, free from all complications and tradition. We are to be as revolutionaries on all that is corrupt and rebellious, on all that is unjust.
Our Target
We aim to double our popularity and sweep our areas. We aim to maintain our culture, activate it and deeply embed it in our land. We aim to ensure the continuity of our party and establish its status and to give amoral and symbolic importance to our martyrs and our activists.
In Affirmation
It remains that we are the circulating force in this steadfast Lebanon;its entity and its message.
And that our military is our roots and the source of our heroes; and it is our honour, sacrifice and loyalty.
And that the General, the founder, will remain our temporal and eternal president; the focus of pride,the basis of our thinking, and guardian of the movement.
My colleagues,
"God's grace is upon us and Lebanon’s needs are bestowed upon us."
We have been bestowed with an enormous grace.
It is ours to carry, it is our wayand this is our fate. It is the cross we bear for the salvation of Lebanon.
For this they will stone us, and try to tarnish our reputation and undermine our credibility. But they will not take our will away from us. For this they will target us, try to isolate us and banish us with the sword of apostasy and the apostasy of politics.
For this they will obstruct our projects and put an “N” (Daesh symbol for Christians) on them and on us. They will forbid us from accomplishing and participating (they will put the “N” on us on the city squares, administration, ministries, the unions and in the Presidency of the Republic).
And for this we will fall and rise up again, we are the sons of resurrection and we will continue moving forward, we will continue with faith, hope and love; so that we love the people and they will love us as we love one another.
We shall stumble together, rise together, struggle together. Partake in parliament together and the Presidency together.
Together we stay builders not destroyers; optimists not pessimists, aware not assimilated.
For this, together we paid for something we are not responsible for. Our nominations cost us twice for which we also were not responsible. There were no elections as we were forbidden from showing our size which was seen in all the opinions polls. Still we hope to translate our work into election results so that this overwhelming majority will express itself.
However, we have reached an agreement on quasi consensus upon the vast majority. We agreed today to make our movement strong;the strongest, without any conditions, shares and factions; but only one team.
My colleagues,
I bow before you, young or old, every young man and woman, in front of your sacrifices and struggles, in front of your patriotism and your Lebanese identity. I kiss your hands because you are Aoun’s men in the city squares.
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But you, O Michel Aoun,
Your Excellency, General, Leader, Father and Companion, I kneel in front of you.Myself, my companions and comrades,to give you pride through us always.Do not give me your blessing to take your place because no one can fill it, but rather I am honoured for being in the second position after you. Here today, right now, we announce our loyalty to you and to our martyrs and activists, as we, men of the cause in the field. We announce our resolve, for us and for you.
There were also speeches by the other 2 members of the leadership team.
Minister Sehnaoui stated "In these circumstances we should not lose the compass, so as to achieve reform, and we have to be united to achieve this. Do not judge us on our intentions but on our acts”.
Rommel Saber stressed on the efforts that he will make for the sake of a "strong FPM".
R.B 30/08/15