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BEIRUT - I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Gebran Bassil, the leader of the predominantly Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), in Beirut, Lebanon.
We met at his home overlooking the city toward the end of the day. He appeared deeply engaged and fatigued after a long series of political and electoral activities as part of his campaign to secure victory for the FPM candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for next May.
During our discussion, Bassil outlined four key issues that the Free Patriotic Movement considers top priorities:
First – Christians in Lebanon feel abandoned by Western capitals. There are many ethnic and religious groups in the Middle East that receive far more attention than the followers of Christ in the Levant. Lebanese Christians would like their fellow believers in the West to use their political platforms to shed light on their existential security concerns, as well as their economic and cultural grievances.
Second – The Free Patriotic Movement seeks to restore balance to Lebanon’s political structure, one that Christians enjoyed prior to the civil war. In Bassil’s view, the executive powers of the presidency — held by the Maronite Christians under the constitution — should be strengthened, and representation within government ministries should be rebalanced fairly among Lebanon’s different communities.
Third – Bassil regards the return of two million Syrian refugees, the vast majority of whom are Sunni Muslims who fled the war in Syria, as an existential matter for preserving the Christian presence and maintaining Lebanon’s delicate social balance. He believes that a structured mechanism must be established to facilitate their return to Syria, and that Western and UN financial aid encouraging them to remain in Lebanon should be halted. The FPM, he noted, is deeply concerned about the demographic, security, economic, and cultural implications of keeping such a large refugee population on Lebanese soil.
Fourth – Bassil emphasized his commitment to “securing the roots of Christianity” in the Levant. As he put it, Christian communities have been virtually wiped out in Iraq and Syria. “Jesus Christ walked in Lebanon,” he said, “and Lebanese Christians are the descendants of those who built the original Church.” Therefore, their presence in the Levant must be protected for the sake of future generations of humanity.
It is worth noting that Bassil remains on the U.S. OFAC sanctions list due to earlier electoral understandings with Hezbollah, which the West views as an Iranian proxy in Lebanon. He, however, describes that understanding as “a political arrangement aimed at strengthening Christian representation within state institutions and correcting the imbalance caused by the selective implementation of the Taif Agreement.”
