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Chantal Sarkis was appointed secretary-general of the Lebanese Forces, becoming the first woman to hold the post in a major Lebanese political party. Hailing from the northern Akkar town of Al Qubayyat, Sarkis spent seven years as a political affairs officer at the United Nations.
Dr Sarkis. More than 1 year from your appointment as the LFP Secretary General. You are the first woman to hold the post in Lebanon and maybe in the Middle East. How can you evaluate your work until now?
First of all, let me tell you that Dr Samir Geagea’s (LFP President) move to appoint me as Secretary General of the LFP was not the result of any pressure from the civil society groups, or a step to seek female quotas in the party. In our party, we believe that any qualified person should hold major responsibilities regardless of his/her gender. I am very grateful to have been appointed as Secretary General due to my qualifications in my political career. Frankly, I didn’t face any obstacles for being a woman in my leadership position in the LFP. Moreover, I would like to send a message to all women, not only in Lebanon but all over the world, to engage in the political life.
We are a few weeks before the Parliamentary Elections, that will take place on 6 May in Lebanon. What are your expectations for the results, especially with the new electoral law?
We are very glad to have the Parliamentary Elections in Lebanon in a few weeks’ time. The new proportional law will improve the representation of all the sectarian groups in Lebanon, especially minorities. The proportional system was not easy to agree on with Lebanon’s diverse confessions, political parties and regions. Regarding the results, I don’t believe that Hezbollah and their allies will have a majority in these elections as many are arguing. Most probably, no specific bloc will have a real majority in Parliament. For the LFP, we are expecting an improvement and a bigger parliamentarian bloc. I believe that the LFP will be one of the few parties that will have a bigger bloc in 6 May 2018.
What are the LFP’s main slogans in the coming elections? Can you give us the main focus of the LFP candidates?
Our slogans and messages mainly concentrate on two important ideas. The need for a “strong state” and not “a state within a state”. We believe that the presence of Hezbollah militias all over Lebanon and their interference in the regional affairs (ex: Syria, Yemen etc.) are diminishing the role of our state and disturbing its relations with several countries. We will make sure to keep on resisting Hezbollah’s attempt to control our peoples’ decisions in all means. Another issue that is tackled in our slogans is the need for transparency in the public sector. I am very glad to tell you that our current Ministers are playing a big role in promoting transparency and curbing nepotism in the government. We are sure that our success stories in the Ministries of Health, Information, and Social Affairs will continue after the parliamentarian elections.
Lebanon is still receiving big international and generous support from EU Member States. The latest examples are the Rome, Brussels, and Paris conferences. What are your expectations for the results of these conferences? Do you think that the Lebanese Government will benefit from the international support to shore up its economy?
We are really thankful for the International support in general and specifically for the EU’s continuous support to Lebanon. As it is well-known, Lebanon is facing different challenges due to the big influx of Syrian refugees into its territories in addition to the terrorist threat on our borders. These conferences are needed to bolster financial support. However, our government should work in parallel to solve essential concerns that are holding our economic development back. For example, only supporting the State with additional soft loans without securing real reforms and fighting corruption will increase the deficit of the treasury and public debt. Large reforms that go beyond reducing the budget deficit are essential to get out of the financial crisis and regain the international donors’ trust; these include structural reforms in the Lebanese economy and public finances, in addition to reforming the electricity and other sectors. I am sure that the international community and specifically the EU will continue supporting our country, but we should make sure to lower the budget deficit, increase private public partnership and privatisation to regain the donors’ trust.
Moving to the regional issues, Syria is in a state of war and a lot of states in the region are fragmenting. What role do you think the EU should play in this regional turbulence and to combat terrorism?
I am very concerned about the developments in Syria and other neighbouring countries. Hundreds of children and civilians are being killed daily with sophisticated weapons. Even chemical weapons are being used against civilians, only a few kilometres away from our country. I believe that the international community and the EU should play a bigger role in Middle Eastern affairs and mainly, Syria. It is time to pressure the Syrian President to sit on the negotiation table. The EU’s concern regarding the threat of ISIS and other terrorist organisations is very understandable. However, I don’t believe that the military eradication of these organisations will totally remove their presence. If we don’t find a way to have inclusive systems for all the confessional groups in Syria, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, then many of the excluded people will turn to the terrorist organisations. As long as a dictator regime like the Syrian regime headed by Bachar El Assad remains in power without any international pressure, we should expect the rise of another form of ISIS.