A delegation of Beirut Members of Parliament arrived at the Baabda Presidential Palace on Wednesday to formally present President Joseph Aoun with the full resolutions of the landmark “Beirut Free of Weapons” Conference — a historic cross-sectarian gathering that called for the Lebanese capital to be declared a sovereign, weapons-free zone under exclusive state authority.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Deputy Ghassan Hasbani outlined four core messages conveyed to the President: briefing him on the conference’s resolutions; affirming parliamentary support for the state and its legitimate institutions; proposing concrete measures to strengthen law enforcement; and transmitting the concerns and aspirations of Beirut’s residents who seek a city free of illegal arms.

Hasbani Delivers Four-Point Briefing to the President

“We placed President Joseph Aoun in the context of the decisions of the ‘Beirut Free of Weapons’ conference,” Hasbani told reporters gathered outside the Palace. “We affirmed our support for the state, the President of the Republic, and the legitimate institutions.”

The deputy added that the delegation proposed “a set of points related to strengthening the enforcement of laws” and that they carried with them a clear message from Beirut’s population: residents want their city transformed into a zone where no armed group operates outside the authority of the Lebanese state.

Aoun: The Ceasefire is “Pivotal and Essential”

Deputy Milham Khalaf, also part of the delegation, reported that President Aoun received the MPs’ message with affirmation and resolve. Khalaf relayed the President’s words: Aoun described the opportunity Lebanon has reached through the current ceasefire as “a pivotal and essential station” in the longer journey toward achieving greater and more lasting stability for what he called “this tormented country.”

The President’s language was deliberate — framing the ceasefire not as an endpoint, but as a threshold. Lebanon, in Aoun’s framing, now stands at a gateway: the decisions made in the coming weeks regarding disarmament, army deployment, and state sovereignty will determine whether this moment becomes a true inflection point or simply another pause in decades of instability.

Cross-Sectarian Unity Behind the Declaration

The “Beirut Free of Weapons” Conference, which preceded the Baabda meeting, brought together MPs from across Lebanon’s historically fractured political landscape — a rare display of unity. Hezbollah and the Amal Movement were notably absent, but the assembled deputies spanning Christian, Sunni, and independent blocs delivered a unified declaration demanding that the Lebanese Armed Forces be deployed across all of Beirut, including its southern suburbs, and that all illegal arms be confiscated without exception.

Building on the April 9 Cabinet Decision

The Baabda meeting and the conference that preceded it are not isolated political gestures — they represent the parliamentary endorsement of a decision already taken at the executive level. On April 9, 2026, the Lebanese cabinet formally instructed the army and security forces to monopolize all weapons in the Beirut Governorate and assert full state authority. The MPs’ visit to Baabda translates that cabinet directive into a clear parliamentary mandate, removing any ambiguity about the breadth of political will behind disarmament.

Reports indicate that Phase 1 of the broader national disarmament initiative has already seen more than 500 weapons caches surrendered in some areas — a figure that, while modest relative to the scale of Hezbollah’s known stockpiles, signals an operational momentum that analysts say has rarely been seen in post-war Lebanon.

Context: “Make Lebanon Great Again”

The timing is significant beyond Lebanon’s borders. President Trump, speaking on April 17 amid the Iran nuclear negotiations, commented on Lebanon’s trajectory — noting the ceasefire as a positive development and remarking, in his characteristic style: “we will, MAKE LEBANON GREAT AGAIN!” The declaration, light in tone but heavy in implication, signals Washington’s continued interest in a Lebanon freed from Iranian-backed militia control and capable of joining a broader regional stabilization framework.

For believers in Lebanon and across the diaspora, the sight of MPs from rival sects and parties standing together at Baabda to demand the rule of law and the protection of their city carries a weight that transcends politics. The cedar of Lebanon — ancient symbol of strength and beauty — endures. The question, as President Aoun framed it so plainly, is whether this pivotal moment will be seized.

Faith & Freedom News | fandfnews.com | Reporting based on statements made by Deputies Ghassan Hasbani and Milham Khalaf following their meeting with President Aoun at Baabda Palace on April 16, 2026, and on conference proceedings from the same date. Background context sourced from Lebanese cabinet records and post-ceasefire reporting. FFN will continue covering Lebanon’s disarmament process.