National Bloc: Abandoning Lebanon's natural resources is high treason

The parties in power claim to defend the sovereignty of Lebanon. However, their neglect, compromise, and deliberate squandering of our water resources and rights in the Exclusive Economic Zone, with the oil wealth it contains, can only be described as high treason.

Syria has signed an agreement with the Russian company Capital to conduct oil exploration in Blocks 1 and 2, both of which, according to the border demarcation issued by the Syrian authorities, encroach on Lebanese waters with an area of 1,000 square kilometers containing oil and gas deposits.

On the other hand, failure to amend Decree No. 6433 issued in 2011, and not adopting Line 29 that was defined by the Lebanese army instead of Line 23, will deprive Lebanon of 2,290 square kilometers of its water, and of the oil and gas reserves beneath it, for the benefit of the Israeli enemy.

In light of these concessions and violations of the Lebanese sovereignty and the rights of the Lebanese in their lands and resources, and in the face of this brazen contempt for the Lebanese people’s sacrifices in defeating the Syrian and Israeli occupations, we affirm that it is in the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese, and in particular the interest of its future generations, not to waste this oil wealth by putting it at the disposal of this corrupt authority that squandered and plundered the total amount of what we would earn from our oil wealth.