سلام: الجنوب لن يترك وحده

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote on his account on the “X” website: “On the eve of the anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, we remember those who carried the issue of the south from one capital to another, warning that it would remain an arena for conflicts that transcend it. He expressed this in the clearest words when he said: “South Lebanon alone paid the price,” rejecting a reality in which southerners bear the burdens of confrontation and war, while decisions are made in other places. For the sake of the South, which was his last Arab tour, and for the sake of Lebanon, which he wanted to be master of its land, capable of protecting its people with its state and institutions, he went to Libya, before disappearing with his two companions, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoub and Professor Abbas Badr al-Din. On this anniversary, I affirm that the South will not be left alone, and that its people will never again be the ones to pay the price for the struggles and decisions of others. Our pledge is that the southerner will remain in his land, and that those who were displaced from it will return to their home and village in safety and honor, and that the south will not remain an open arena for wars that are not decided by the Lebanese and their state. We pledged that the state that the Imam called for to be present in the south would actually be present: with its army, institutions, services, and development. It protects its land and its people, and it alone has the right to decide war and peace. Our responsibility is to work to end the Israeli occupation and stop its attacks, to rebuild what was destroyed, to secure the return of the people of the South to their villages, and to extend state sovereignty over its entire territory. Lebanon's sovereignty is not complete as long as part of its land is occupied or desecrated, just as it is not complete unless the decision on war and peace is in the hands of its state alone. Imam Musa al-Sadr wanted a south that would not be abandoned, and a Lebanon in which the state would not be abandoned. This, today, is our responsibility and our pledge.”