Suleiman: Some Flaws in the State Need to Be Addressed to Fortify Taef Accord

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

President Michel Suleiman revealed on Friday that he will propose a number of constitutional reforms to cabinet in the upcoming months.

He said before the new council of Arab journalists in Beirut: “I believe in the Taef Accord as it is, but in order to fortify the agreement, some flaws in state need to addressed.”

“These flaws have emerged gradually, the most recent of which was resignation of Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas,” he added.

“We have not properly implemented Lebanon’s democratic system, but this is the best system Lebanon can have,” he said.

The president explained that this system helped protect the country throughout the ongoing developments of the Arab Spring.

“I was hoping to achieve more reform and I have not stopped in this mission,” stated Suleiman.

Addressing the appointments of civil servants, he remarked that cabinet will be convened soon.

A dispute between Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the Free Patriotic Movement over the appointments forced the former to suspend cabinet sessions.

“Nothing can thwart these appointments as the constitution has stipulated the means in which they should be implemented, which is away from political affiliations,” Suleiman added.

Regarding Lebanon’s decision to distance itself from the Syrian crisis and its consequent “semi-isolation,” he said: “This is a sign of Israel’s intentions towards Lebanon.”

“Do any of the Arab states have the same geographic characteristics as Lebanon?” he asked.

He explained that the policies of these countries are determined by geography.

In this case, Lebanon’s only Arab neighbor is Syria “and therefore its decisions stem from its geo-political standing,” noted the president.

“Lebanon has adopted a good position on the crisis and we are the only Arab country whose sects determine its president,” he stated.

“This makes us more than ever committed to the Arab League article that each member state should respect the system of rule of another,” he added.

“Given this article, we, as friends of the Syrian people, hope that democracy will be established in Syria because if it is well, then Lebanon will be well,” he continued.

Addressing the national dialogue, he renewed his call to resume the talks in order to complete discussions on the country’s defense strategy and implement its previous agreements on the Palestinian and Resistance’s possession of arms.

He dismissed statements on whether the dialogue should be held with or without preconditions, saying that it is only important that regional instability be prevented from spreading to Lebanon.

The March 14 camp had stated that the national dialogue should only discuss Hizbullah’s arms, while party chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had said that it would agree to resume the talks as long as no preconditions are made.

Comments 5
Thumb primesuspect 24 February 2012, 19:21

Société laïque, État laïc ... Sinon ça ne marchera jamais.

Thumb chrisrushlau 24 February 2012, 22:13

Before I read the article, let me briefly summarize its contents. To make clear the equality of Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, in future each Christian, when she goes upon the street, shall be accompanied by her three designated Muslim counterparts to reflect the demographic balance. This group of four shall be responsible for each other in all matters personal and civic, with the exception of payment of taxes, where each member of society is responsible to pay an equal share, not in the same sense of equality as in the distribution of Parliamentary seats. "Equality is a complex right", as the former chief justice of the Israeli Supreme Court put it.
What would happen to Lebanon's "stability" if majority rule were implemented? The Christians would all leave? They'd go on a campaign of murder in the streets? That's stability, living under that threat?

Default-user-icon Horus (Guest) 25 February 2012, 12:11

Get over you demographics complexeties,The Lebanese Christians outnumber the Lebanese Muslims, take it any way you want, check all registered consulates and embasies around the world and do your calculations.

Default-user-icon Balata3meh (Guest) 25 February 2012, 07:56

T3ish w tfou2....it's too little too late....you did nothing, i mean really nothing during your presidency...incolore inodore sans saveur.

Default-user-icon trueself (Guest) 25 February 2012, 11:15

Lebanon in essence doesn't need to strengthen its democratic system because there's no democracy to start with. The same faces from the same families since our independence. Corruption is the name of the game where all the political elite devour the richness of this country leaving us all in vacuum where we pack our laggages and leave this country to the democratic elite (HAHA). If this country is ever to be enriched a true democratic system has to be installed where there would be no discrimination against anyone based on religious arientation. This recipe is long abolished by most countries and Lebanon should not be any exception. If only these religious people know that God came to abolish secterism while they are entrenching it in our lives. What hypocrates.