“The essence of Lebanese democracy is based on consensus before anything else,” President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, said in an address he gave to a visiting delegation of the accredited diplomatic corps in Lebanon.
“Based on the aforementioned fact, we are exerting relentless efforts to attain wide and complete consensus in a bid to reach agreement on the new cabinet formula, in cooperation with the Prime Minister-designate,” Aoun added.
On another level, the president regretted that terrorism had grown and expanded to infest the five continents of the world.
“Lebanon is one of the countries that have borne the burden of the consequences of neighboring wars and the influx of Syrian refugees,” Aoun said.
“It is true that we have been able to liberate our land from terrorism; we have uprooted all the forms of terrorism and seized control of the security situation; however, the displacement crisis continues to burden the country at the economic, security, social, educational, and hospitalization levels,” the President explained.
He went on to wonder with regard to what he described as the international community’s “unclear” position vis-à-vis the refugees’ return to their homeland.
“It doesn’t appear to be reassuring, especially with attempts to link the refugee return to a political solution, which might take a long time,” he added, expressing fear of some determination to keep refugees in Lebanon, despite Lebanon’s repeated warnings at international forums and in front of diplomatic missions of all the damage done to our country at various levels.
Moreover, the President could not help but wonder why Lebanon had always been destined to pay a dear price for the attainment of regional peace and settlements.
“Israel’s threats, the constant pressure, all the vague solutions, as well as that act of striking the universal identity of the Holy Land through the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of ‘Israel’, are all alarming signs, not to mention could in no way end existing wars. This would rather beget new wars, new displacements, and new ethnic cleansing,” Aoun warned.
Source: NNA
