US envoy to Beirut: Gebran Bassil was ready to separate his party from Hezbollah
11 November, 2020
Lebanon's Gebran Bassil is preparing to separate his Free Patriotic Movement from Iran-backed Hezbollah with conditions, US ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea said on Monday.
Ms Shea was speaking days after Washington imposed sanctions on the former minister and son-in-law to President Michel Aoun.
But she said the Christian ally of the Iran-backed party lacked understanding of US policy after he criticised the sanctions as unjust and politically motivated.
Mr Bassil said these were imposed after he refused to submit to a US demand to break ties with Hezbollah, because that would jeopardized national unity and peace in Lebanon.
“Mr Bassil might feel that leaking selective information out of context about our mutual discussion serves his cause," Ms Shea said.
"This is not just how I usually work, but I will reveal one thing: he himself expressed his readiness to split up from Hezbollah, under certain conditions.
"He actually expressed gratitude that america had got him to see how the relationship is disadvantageous to the party."
In 2006, Mr Bassil's party signed an alliance with Hezbollah, giving the party the much-needed backing of a significant Christian faction to demonstrate inter-religious support for keeping its weapons.
Since that time he has defended the heavily armed group as essential to the defence of Lebanon.
"We won't refute every inaccurate point manufactured in Mr Bassil's speech," Ms Shea said.
"There were many of them, where there was a misunderstanding of the way the sanctions worked and too little knowledge of US policy and just how it was made.
"Even key advisers explained that they encouraged Mr Bassil to take this historic decision."
She said the sanctions were on Mr Bassil, not his party, and that the US "does not punish or destroy the Free Patriotic Movement".
After Washington's move on Friday, Mr Aoun called on the Foreign Ministry to formally request any documents as proof Mr Bassil's alleged corruption, therefore the Lebanese judiciary could investigate and file charges if needed.
“All I can say is that people seek to make the major amount of information available when the names are released, but as can often be the case, some of this information isn't releasable," Ms Shea said.
She said Mr Bassil was welcome to challenge the US move around in the American legal system.
The US "took this measure in solidarity with the Lebanese people who, for greater than a year, have demanded their political leaders to get rid of business as usual by working to chart a new direction specialized in reform and transparency, and uprooting rampant corruption from its roots", Ms Shea said.
Since last October, thousands have protested in Lebanon demanding political reform, a finish to corruption and competent leadership that may address the dire monetary crisis.
On Sunday, Mr Bassil said he previously been told by Mr Aoun a senior American official had called him and said that the party leader must break its relationship with Hezbollah "immediately" or US sanctions will be imposed within four days.
He has held several positions in previous governments, like the communications minister, energy and water minister and foreign minister.
Mr Bassil is widely thought to hold ambitions of succeeding his father-in-law as president.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
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