Suleiman from Greece: Democracy is Bolstered through Participation of Minorities

President Michel Suleiman noted on Friday that democracy in the Arab world cannot be stabilized without establishing an independent Palestinian state.

He added: “The participation of the minorities of the Middle East in political life will also stabilize democracy in the region.”

He made his remarks during the second day of his trip to Greece, where he met with the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox church Arnimos the second.

“There are several countries that claim to be democratic, but they do not practice the rotation of power,” Suleiman remarked.

“The concept of the rotation of power should be included in all democratic constitutions,” he stressed.

“We support the Arab movements towards the establishment of democracy … on condition that the new system would not be based on sectarianism or discrimination,” he added.

On the Syrian crisis, he hoped that foreign powers would not intervene in the conflict, except through facilitating dialogue that will hopefully yield a democratic system.

Suleiman had kicked off on Thursday an official visit to Greece where he met his counterpart Karolos Papoulias and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.