Tomorrow, the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, will be a guest of the General Directorate of Public Security on the occasion of its eighty-first anniversary, in a previously scheduled visit, but due to its timing, it acquires a clear political significance, especially after the controversy that has surrounded during the past days the Directorate and its General Director, Major General Hassan Choucair.
Aoun’s visit to the General Security headquarters comes the day after a delegation from the Directorate attended Baabda Palace as part of the occasion, and in parallel with a very clear presidential position issued today, in which Aoun directed direct congratulations to Choucair, the General Security officers, his ranks, his soldiers, and his employees, stressing that the bet on this institution and on all other military and security institutions is “a bet on the survival of the state and the concept of the law.”
Thus, Aoun’s message to General Security does not begin tomorrow, but was preceded today by clear signals from Baabda. The President of the Republic described the directorate as “a safety valve and an essential pillar of national stability,” and affirmed his pride in its history and sacrifices, considering it the first line of defense for the security of society and a watchful eye on the nation’s sovereignty.
Tomorrow’s visit gives this position an additional dimension. Aoun will not be satisfied with a congratulatory message from Baabda, but will personally move to the directorate’s headquarters at a time before which came a political campaign that attempted to put General Security and its leadership in a position of confrontation with some state institutions.
Political parties held General Security responsible for granting Muhammad Reda Shaybani a temporary residency, and portrayed the procedure as a challenge to the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a circumvention of the state’s decision. However, the Directorate did not grant Shaybani diplomatic status and did not interfere in the issue of accrediting him as ambassador, but rather dealt with his residency status within the framework of its legal powers.
From here, the political picture becomes clearer: a delegation from Public Security in Baabda today, a declared presidential position supporting the institution and its leadership, and then the President of the Republic himself at the directorate’s headquarters tomorrow.
The visit, although it was scheduled before the outbreak of the recent controversy, comes at a time that makes it difficult to separate it from the political climate surrounding public security. Between Aoun’s position today and his presence tomorrow, the message seems clear: the directorate operates under the roof of the state, and presidential confidence in its leadership is not a matter of ambiguity.
