Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea addressed the Iranian backed militant group by saying : The game is over. Every day of delay harms Lebanon. Sit down with the army to end the militant wing and transform your group into a political party.
Commenting on the fall of the Syrian regime he said: No one should think that it is the end of the road, but rather its beginning, because the regime of the Assad father and son was one of the most important obstacles to building a state in Lebanon, and there is no salvation for us except by establishing an actual state, so we celebrate today, and the building of an actual state in Lebanon will begin.
During a celebration in Maarab following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Geagea said: There is a saying that never leaves my mind: “No one should believe that God has died or that He does not interfere in history. No matter how difficult the path is, His will will be the same on earth as in heaven.” He added: “What we see in Syria is neither politics nor military, but His will. I repeated these words underground and continued to believe in them. As underground, so above. With the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, I believed in them more and more, and this belief continued even when the Syrian revolution subsided. I was aware that Assad’s continuation was impossible, and we continued as forces to confront them when others did not dare. We continued at a time when many European countries had been preparing for two months to open relations with Syria, but we continued until we saw our dream come true, and therefore only what is right is right.”
He added: “Today is Bashir Gemayel’s day. For 55 years, many Lebanese have been lost, but not a single day has Bashir or the Forces been lost. Even the day a truce was reached in 1977 with Assad. Bashir and the Forces were not lost. It is Bashir Gemayel’s day, whom they sent to kill and whom they considered a hero. The time for justice has come, not only in Syria, but in Lebanon as well.” “Today is the day of Achrafieh, the 100-day Achrafieh, and all our comrades who were martyred and wounded, today they got their rights. It is the day of Zahle, “Zahle, the unattainable star” and the war it fought against Assad in his own home with bravery and steadfastness.” It is the day of “Bella and Qanat”, two small towns that were completely destroyed, but their people were all strong and honorable in confronting Assad’s army. It is the day of Tripoli, and all our martyrs who fell at the hands of Assad’s forces. It is the day of Riad Taha, Salim Al-Lawzi, and the martyrs of Al-Qaa. It is the day of Sami Abu Judeh, Suleiman Akiki, Nadim Abboud, and Elie Daou, as the assassinations began early so that the Taif Agreement would not be implemented, and one of them “I don’t know how he has the nerve to walk in parliament.” It is the day of Danny Chamoun and all the assassinations carried out by the successive Assad regimes. It is the day of Boutros Khawand, who was kidnapped so that a state would not be established in Lebanon. It is the day of all the prisoners who were captured by Assad’s forces, and I hope that rumors are not accepted and that no one believes the news of their release before seeing the prisoner or talking to him. It is the day of the Antonine monks and the martyrs of Our Lady of Salvation Church. It is the day of George Dib and Nehme Ziadeh. Geagea continued, “It is the day of Fawzi Al-Rassi, Ramzi Irani, Mufti Hassan Khaled, Sobhi Al-Saleh, Rafik Hariri, Kamal Jumblatt, Rene Moawad. It is the day of all the martyrs of the Cedar Revolution. It is the day of Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, who stood alone in the face of Syrian tutelage.”
He stressed, “It is the day of the free people in Syria who have suffered greatly under the rule of the Syrian regime and who have struggled for 55 years, many of whom died and were displaced from their homes and their country because they could not coexist with this regime.” It is our day for all of us, but it should be a day of shame and disgrace for the Lebanese who have continued for decades to wipe the carpet of the Assad regime for a little cowardice and a few political positions. As happy and proud as we are, they should be ashamed and not appear before us on television screens, because we will remind them how much they have snorted with Assad and stripped them of all dignity and sovereignty and did not look at what the Assad regime did to Lebanon. They should put their heads on the ground.” The greatest shame and disgrace should be for those who believed that Assad protects Christians. Whoever expects protection from a regime like Assad “why is he here?” Our entire history is full of heroism and some came to sell it for a handful of interests and these some should be very ashamed of themselves.
Geagea addressed Hezbollah by saying: “The game is over, so every day since then you are wasting it on yourselves and the Lebanese, while your incubating environment is in dire need of reconstruction. The time you think you are winning you are wasting on yourselves, your environment and the Lebanese. You should talk to the Lebanese army starting tomorrow, set a schedule and get rid of your military wing and sit together as Lebanese at the same table and start discussing the path of the state. We will not accept, like any other Lebanese, the return of the past that we lived through and we do not want what we witnessed in Syria and elsewhere to happen in Lebanon. Sit with the army and find a solution for your weapons within a week or a month or two at most, return them to Iran or sell them or hand them over.” He continued: As for Prime Minister Najib Mikati, he said: “You are responsible legally and religiously at the present time, please take responsibility, sit with the government and draw a roadmap, because our biggest problem is that many have not taken responsibility.”
He addressed the Lebanese people and called on them to “re-read all the political speeches since 40 years ago until now, and said: “Look at the representatives you have chosen. If the choices were correct, the situation would have been different, and therefore know well who you will bring to power because your choices decide your fate.” As for the Lebanese Forces, I say: “May God bless you, all your work, effort and the blood of our martyrs brought us here, be ready for the next stage.” Geagea concluded by reassuring the Lebanese: “The time has come, many have lost hope and emigrated, the time has come to return to Lebanon, which has regained hope and needs your efforts and presence, and we are waiting for you, and review “Lebanon will be rebuilt”