Former Lebanese MP Dr. Nabil Nicolas said in a June 29, 2023 interview that was posted to the Bel Moubashar YouTube channel that it is "inconceivable" that the politicians remain in their seats while the people are starving, and he said that it is the role of the Lebanese army to defend the Lebanese people. When asked whether it is the duty of the army to carry out a military coup and to topple the caretaker government, the parliament, and all the institutions, Nicolas answered: "The army would not be toppling them. They have toppled themselves."
Nabil Nicolas: "In Lebanon, Eid Al-Adha lasts 365 days a year. All the Lebanese are making sacrifices today."
Interviewer: "Right."
Nicolas: "So we should mark this holiday throughout the year, 365 days..."
Interviewer: "You see the Lebanese as sheep, because of the slaughtering..."
Nicolas: "Absolutely."
Interviewer: "What do you mean?"
Nicolas: "Isn't this a nation of sheep? The people's money was stolen and plundered by the politicians, yet some of them kept their seats, and nobody says a word. Some of the people even follow the politicians, chanting: 'Hail to the leader.' No matter what happens, they salute the leader. Their money is gone, but they salute their leader. Their children have emigrated, but they salute their leader. What would you call this? Is it not a nation of sheep?
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"Unlike all our neighboring countries, the Lebanese military is not the regime's army. The Lebanese army defends the country and citizens, not the regime.
"It is inconceivable that while the people are dying of hunger – and the servicemen themselves are dying of hunger – and when there is no security or anything in the country, yet the politicians remain in their seats, and do not care what the people have to say... Ultimately, what is the role of the army and the security forces? Is it not their role to protect the citizens?
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"The military forces maintain security in all its aspects. You cannot distinguish security in the [military sense] from security in the social sense – when the latter is gone, so is the former. It is all the same. They are all intertwined. Security means the military aspect, the social aspect. The political aspect - they are all intertwined. The doctrine of the Lebanese army is to defend the country and citizens. They take an oath 'to defend my country, Lebanon,' not to defend the Taif Agreement, or this-or-that leader. The army must fulfill its duty today."
Interviewer: "But is it the duty of the army to carry out a military coup, and to topple the caretaker government, the parliament, and all the institutions?"
Nicolas: "Where do you see the institutions today? The army would not be toppling them. They have toppled themselves."