By Marlene Khalifeh
Masdar Diplomacy
No Swap will take place for the blood of the victims of the Beirut Port explosion, nor for the blood of the Tayouneh martyrs who were killed by snipers on the 14th of this month
This statement appears important when it represents the position held by “Hezbollah”, which categorically rejects the sudden visits made by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi to the three presidents, following the visit of a delegation of representatives from Lebanese Forces to Bkerke after summoning the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, for investigation by the Intelligence Directorate In the army, at the request of the government’s commissioner to the military court, Judge Fadi Akiki, who gave a signal to listen to Geagea’s testimony as a witness following the revelations made by the detainees in this file
However, Geagea refused to appear, and the patriarch toured the three presidents, which was originally aimed only at Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, given that he is also “walli al Dam” with “Hezbollah”
p 3 protesters supporting the Amal movement went dead, while 4 fell dead from Hezbollah supporters, including Ms. Maryam Farhat, who was killed by a bullet while she was on the balcony of her house
This refusal by the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, which was clearly demonstrated in the interview on MTV, in addition to the “hasty and wrong” patriarchal tour, according to circles close to “Hezbollah”, had a negative impact on Geagea and his narrative about his persistence “To justice” and his demands that all those persons called in the Port Blast investigation appear before the judicial investigator, Tariq Al-Bitar, and his failure to listen to the complaints of these persons, some of whom are defendants, that the judge is politicized and asks for investigations with figures affiliated with a particular axis “Al-Moumana’aa” or at least close to this axis. When Geagea is requested to appear as a witness, he refused and described Judge Akiki as “Hezbollah’s commissioner to the military court.”
In this context, the circles confirm to our website that “Hezbollah” will not accept the swap negotiated by the Patriarch, and will not return to government meetings before finding a solution to the case of judicial investigator Tariq Al-Bitar. As a reminder, the party demands that Bitar stops completely his work from the port’s investigations
The second point on which Geagea’s opponents vow is that he said in his last interview that he had never doubted that Hezbollah had anything to do with the explosion of the port, given the vast logistical and human capabilities that the party enjoys, which excluded it from being in need of the port’s nitrate, but when he heard its Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is skeptical about the investigation and says that it is politicized, He has become convinced that the party has something to hide in the case of the Beirut port explosion. This narrative is answered by circles close to “Hezbollah” saying that statement is rejected. If he adopts this logic, why does he hesitate to appear as a witness before the investigator? So he has something to hide. According to information obtained by “Masdar Diplomacy” website from the circles following up on the investigations, the persons interrogated by the army intelligence gave very accurate information about the preparations that preceded the Tayouneh massacre: the recruitment of forces with their weapons and cars from several Lebanese regions, and orders to be stationed in specific places . The persons detained said that whoever gave them the orders was the personal security official chief of Geagea Simon Musalim, and the circles wondered whether it was possible that a Musalim acted by personal decision sending all these persons without the party leader’s order? Consequently, the circles conclude that Geagea has something to fear, so he does not want to appear before the investigator. As for the other evidence, it is represented in dispatching the Patriarch to cover what can be covered and to exchange the port explosion case with the case of Tayouneh.
Circles close to “Hezbollah” proclaim that the party will not accept this bargain at all, because it will only be satisfied with reaching the irrefutable and complete facts in the file of the Beirut port explosion, even though it is not interested in it.
According to the information, this position is also adopted by the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, but for the malicious political calculations that they adopt in their dispute with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Consequently, the Free Patriotic Movement will not abandon the card of Judge Al-Bitar, who “drag” his opponents, such as MP Ali Hassan Al-Khalil, to investigation, he does not want to make a gift to two of his opponents, Nabih Berri and Patriarch Bechara Al-Ra’i
The third point is that speculations that Hezbollah’s behavior echoed positively on Geagea’s popularity on the Christian community are inaccurate. On the contrary, according to the aforementioned circles, the first moment of the Tayouneh incidents extended Geagea some sympathy in the street due to the horror of the event, and after he appeared in the first interview he gave on the Beirut International television, boasting about his “Christian May 7 mini-against” Hezbollah, as he described it
Sympathy soon dissipated after the justifications for the armed and premeditated attack emerged, and it was clear that the demonstrators were ambushed in order to enter one of the Ain al-Rummaneh neighborhoods. Focusing on “Hezbollah” whose supporters have moved away from the scene of the accidents to abide by their leadership’s decision not to be drawn into any response that might lead the country to unimaginable consequences. Then he categorically denied the “Mini May 7 is Christian” narrative, which turned into May 7, led by “Hezbollah” against the Christians. This hesitation and confusion in the narrative shocked many of those who sympathized with a Christian leader who made him in a sentimental moment identical with Bashir Gemayel, the former President of the Republic and the Christian leader who was assassinated in 1982. It turned out that the matter was not true, and that the first narrative had become subject to radical changes to suit the political and judicial dilemmas that they encircle Geagea
In addition to the disappointment of Geagea’s audience who wanted to listening to a speech equal to or superior to that of the Secretary-General of “Hezbollah” with escalating positions, and in contrast to the emotional state that emerged after the Tayouneh incidents, which gave the impression that he is the only one capable of protecting Christians and confronting “Hezbollah”, it has completely withered away In the time interval between the two interviews, especially since the truth emerged through the speech of the Secretary-General of “Hezbollah”, in which he addressed an unprecedented consideration to the Christians
But the biggest disappointment, according to observers opposed to Geagea, was with his American and Saudi allies. Here, a story emerges in the anti-Geagea salons, indicating that Geagea’s allies and supporters, led by the Saudis, asked him to move on the ground and not be satisfied with the rhetoric towards “Hezbollah”. Of course, Geagea fears the situation and has tried – according to the narrative of the circles opposed to him – to gather around him the Progressive Socialist Party, which has 5,000 fighters, and to include them among its 15,000 fighters, as was captured by Walid Jumblatt nearly a year ago, in addition to 10,000 Sunnis provided by Ashraf Rifi. And others from the Sunni forces, but all of them refused to engage in security disturbances, especially cutting off roads targeting vital areas for Hezbollah, such as the Southern Road, to name a few, and bloody incidents, including the Khaldeh incident. To an adventure with uncalculated consequences, “Hezbollah” won the battle in its favor without firing a single “shot “: Geagea lost credibility in front of his allies and in front of his street, according to the aforementioned circles
Marlene Khalifeh
Marlene Khalifeh, a Lebanese journalist. She worked for a period of twelve years in An-Nahar” newspaper before moving to “As-Safir” were she spent ten years as a diplomatic reporter. Between these two periods, Mrs. Khalifeh published many articles in the Al Hayat” and “Al Riyad” newspapers, “Al Wassat” and “Newsweek Middle East” magazines.
She created her own website “Masdar diplomacy”,on the 11th of July 2016 focusing on diplomatic activities in Lebanon and the Middle East.
After attending many training courses in a number of European, American, and English institutions, she specialized in investigative journalism. Her hard work paid off when she was awarded, twice (in 2004 and 2005), with the “investigative journalist” prize by the Commonwealth (in Jordan) among four Arab participating countries. Afterwards, she focused her attention on the politic and diplomatic press training and research on fact checking.
