Naharnet

Aoun Urges Conflict-Free Harmonious Government, Warns against Exploiting Protests

President Michel Aoun on Thursday said the country's next cabinet should include ministers picked on skills, not political affiliation, seemingly endorsing the demand by a two-week-old protest movement for a technocratic government.

"Ministers should be selected based on their qualifications and experience, not their political loyalties," Aoun said in a televised speech on the third anniversary of his presidency.

It came after Prime Minster Saad Hariri Tuesday submitted the resignation of his cabinet.

“Lebanon is in dire need of a harmonious government that can be productive without political conflicts,” Aoun urged.

“Moving from the current sectarian system to a civil state would rescue Lebanon from the problems of sectarianism,” he added.

The president also warned that “exploiting street protests to pit citizens against each other is the most dangerous thing that can threaten the country's unity and civil peace.”

Cautioning that the country is at a "dangerous crossroads," Aoun called on the next government to "fulfill the ambitions of the Lebanese" and to "achieve what the previous government did not, by restoring the people's confidence in the state."

But he did not offer any concrete proposals or make any concessions to the protesters, who went back to chanting and playing protest songs after the speech ended.

Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse, Associated Press


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/266033