Gebran Bassil, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arabs

Written by Nasser Kandil,

“When Lebanon carries a message of peace based on justice, it plays a natural role, and when it defends the people of Palestine it adds from its life style  to the eloquence of speech what is more eloquent”.

As right and justice have logic, wisdom has its logic too.

Let’s listen to it while it is assuring that violence is short-term, it is incapable of ensuring permanent peace, it is fruitless if it turned deaf ear to the main rights of people, as in the case of the people of Palestine, it is weaker than affecting the Palestinians’ determination to resist from inside the occupied territories and weaker than affecting the intention of continuing the pressure from outside for liberation, this is history in the movements of resistance and liberation”.

Those were the words of the late President Suleiman Franjieh before the General Assembly of the United Nations 14/11/1974.

These words used by the late Lebanese President Suleiman Franjieh half of a century ago to describe the position and the role of Lebanon towards the Palestinian Cause and the position of this cause in making stability in the world can be used to comment on the word recited by the Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil at the meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers devoted to discuss the US decision to adopt Jerusalem as a capital of Israel.

Bassil added to the legitimacy of resistance which was foreshadowed by the President Franjieh, the experience of  the resistance which Lebanon built its structure and raised it to the level of liberation and the law of deterrence. He addressed the Arab ministers as the President Franjieh addressed the world on the behalf of all the Arabs, but Bassil found himself talking in front of deaf people, so he just talked leaving the last judgment to the history as the President Franjieh did, so they gained the honor of talking on behalf of the right of the peoples will when the rulers abandoned, as in Lebanon, as in Palestine, as in everywhere. Violence, arrogance, and agony are expressions about narrow-minds when the matter is related to the issues of peoples and their essential rights “as the violence is short-term, it is weaker than affecting the people’s determination to resist”.

“We are here, because our Arabism does not give up Jerusalem, we are in Lebanon, we do not escape from our fate in confrontation and resistance till martyrdom”. Bassil added “Our identity is Jerusalem, and we will keep our dignity and our identity, we are here to regain our lost Arabism between Sunnis and Shiites, between East and West, between Arab-Persian conflict, and which is motivated by illusion to mutual Muslim-Christian intimidation”. He concluded ” we did not come here to raise our hands for the statement uselessly, so let us revolt for our pride, let’s avoid the curse of history and the questions of our grandsons about our negligence, because the uprising can only face-saving, and returns our rights, so either to move now or peace be upon Jerusalem ….where is no peace.

Worthily Bassil deserved to be the Foreign Minister of the Arabs who do not have foreign ministers. His scream did not pass in vain, it reached to where it must reach, the people of Palestine have heard it as all the Arabs, the oppressive occupier has heard it and who has granted him the authorization and the Judaization in Jerusalem. Those who must fear the US decision are still have hearts that beat with freedom and voices that express dignity, as the relationship between light and darkness, some light is enough to dispel all the darkness while  darkness cannot cover the light of right. Bassil’s word was the conference and he was the only minister where there is no need for other ministers and for other words. What must say has been said and who must hear has heard.

Translated by Lina Shehadeh,