NB: Will a general amnesty serve convicts or the government’s allies?
The Lebanese National Bloc Party noted that a general amnesty is usually done after wars or in situations that require reconciliation to ensure civil peace. The military war in Lebanon ended in 1990 only to be replaced by another type of war fought with the weapons of corruption, quotas, waste of public resources, nepotism, and undermining of the judiciary.
In a statement, the party warned about this reality having caused the gradual collapse of the economy and impoverishing large segments of the population with the goal of keeping people under the mercy of the government and the ruling parties. Furthermore, the party asserted that part of the population was enlisted in fanning the internal sectarian conflicts, and consequently became incarcerated or wanted, while others dealt and took drugs and became outlaws. The party added that the heads of drug rings had always been protected by the system, same as to the heads of expiatory movements who were not persecuted for political reasons.
The National Bloc stated that this was a war waged by the government against its citizens, and that granting a general amnesty based on an elastic law is only intended to protect those who instigated and led those who were incarcerated. Additionally the party wondered about the reasons behind this general amnesty law with its exceptions, and how it would open the door to different interpretations as to its real purpose and dangers.
The National Bloc stated that the purpose of this law was to quell the uprising by reinforce sectarian divisions between those who are for, and those who are against this law. The party feels that it would have been more beneficial to research the possibility of granting pardons to specific deserving cases, without granting amnesty to the instigators and to the system that has encouraged hate crimes and that has benefited from them. In the conclusion of the statement, the party asserted that passing of this general amnesty law would be a blow to justice and a loss of rights, leading to the loss of country.