Visiting Paris and Commemorating October 13
During a meeting with the Lebanese community in France, the head of the “Free Patriotic Movement” indicated that his visit to Paris aims primarily to participate in the commemoration of October 13, considering that “this occasion confirms that, after thirty-five years, we are still advocates of a cause and loyal to the martyrs.”
He considered October 13 a fixed date in memory to emphasize “belonging to the cause and the roots,” noting, in contrast, that October 17, 2019, was not just a protest against the WhatsApp tax but “a planned course to strike the era and the movement and portray them as the cause of the collapse, even though the old rentier policies led to the loss of people’s money.”
He accused those behind October 17 of “closing the banks and opening the way for smuggling billions of dollars,” considering what happened as “a systematic financial coup that bankrupted the country and prevents the approval of reform laws to this day.”
He asked, “How come the anniversary of October 17 is no longer commemorated after a year or two, while we meet after 35 years to commemorate October 13?” Concluding that “October 17 was a fleeting case without roots, while October 13 is a cause with followers, thought, and continuity.”
He affirmed that the movement “is still the only one demanding the trial of those who stole depositors’ money and pushing for forensic audit and the approval of financial reform laws,” accusing “the system” of obstructing every reform step.
He stressed that the Free Patriotic Movement considers the Lebanese diaspora part of its political battle to preserve Lebanon’s identity, saying: “We refuse to have the displaced replace the diaspora, and that is why we fight the policies of keeping the displaced as we fight airline ticket prices because the diaspora is not a travel ticket customer.”
He recalled that the movement was the only one that confronted the entry of the Syrian army in 1990, and that it “is still the only one that refuses the stay of Syrian refugees and stands against the policies of some financial officials.”
He said: “We do not address the diaspora in the language of elections or money, but in the language of identity. We approved the law to restore citizenship, opened the right to vote from abroad, and insist on representing the diaspora with their representatives within a real legislative path, not through verbal promises.”
He affirmed that the movement will relaunch the Expatriate Energy Conference in a new version at Christmas “even if we are not in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” adding: “This is our message, and this is the right of the diaspora, and we have never dealt with them on the basis of who voted for or against us.”
He participated in the Divine Liturgy for the repose of the souls of the martyrs of October 13 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lebanon in Paris, in the presence of the Lebanese Ambassador, and also participated in the Lebanese Expatriate Energy dinner, which brought together a number of expatriates in France.
source: 961 today
