Hariri at Arms Conference Calls for Strategy to Prevent Violence

Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed the need on Monday to develop a strategy to prevent violence as he called for combating terrorism with education and knowledge.

The Premier emphasized in his speech at a conference titled Repercussions of the Proliferation of Small Arms in Lebanon and the Arab World “the need to develop and implement a national strategy to prevent violent extremism.”

Rejecting aggression he said “In our society we see a lot of violence and we have to fight violence with culture, science and practice," he said in his speech.

“This program is very important for us. The Lebanese State sought to formulate a national strategy in which the Lebanese society participates in all its political, cultural and social components, starting with the participation of the government with 29 ministries, and the societal consultation with civil society organizations, research institutions and universities,” added Hariri.

“It's necessary to develop a strategy, and I know that the work group worked a lot with the concerned ministries. It remains important to move to the implementation phase, which requires the cooperation of everybody,” he stated.

The PM emphasized that violence is rejected by everyone, “but how much violence and domination is there in the world? This requires education, and this only happens when we try to solve the issues in a scientific way,” said the PM.

The three-day conference opened at the Grand Serail under the Premier's patronage in cooperation with the Arab League.