Connelly: Prosperity of Region Growing Increasingly Tied to Political, Economic Reform

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly voiced on Friday her country’s support to the movements of democracy in the region, adding that the U.S. is prepared to assist those who step up to solve the problems in Lebanon and the Middle East.

She said during a U.S. Embassy celebration of the U.S. Independence Day: “Independence is something that must be constantly renewed and refreshed to insure that whatever government is elected truly represents the legitimate will of the people it represents.”

“We will stand firmly behind our core principles,” she stressed.

“The lessons of Tunisia aren’t necessarily applicable in Egypt or Libya or Bahrain or Yemen or Syria, but the core principles of democratic reform remain our fundamental priority,” she continued.

“We oppose violence and repression. We support freedom of speech, assembly, and religion, the equality of men and women under the law, and the right to choose your own leaders. We will support the political and economic reforms needed to meet the aspirations of the people of the Middle East,” the ambassador said.

“Future prosperity for the region is becoming increasingly tied to the implementation of key political and economic reforms,” Connelly noted.

“The people of the region need to find ways to hold their governments accountable to the obligation to respond to the needs and desires of their peoples,” she added.

“Those leaders who cling to the status quo may be able to restrain the aspirations of their people for a little while, but not forever,” she remarked.

Addressing Lebanon, the ambassador said: “Lebanon is brimming with talent. Its rising generation of young people has the potential to achieve so much, and we need to give them the chance to do so.

“This is why it is all the more inspirational to see Lebanese finding success across all sectors in spite of the systemic difficulties they face,” Connelly stated.

“The U.S. is ready to support those who step up to solve the problems that we and you face. But America cannot solve all these problems. America did not bring out people on the streets of Tunis or Cairo or Sanaa or Daraa,” she said.

“What we all need is a real vision for that future that comes from each of you, from governments that must deliver on their promises, from civil society and business leaders who must build their people up, and of course, from the people themselves,” she stressed.

“For our part, we will endeavor to help the people of the region so they can one day describe their governments as, to quote President Abraham Lincoln, ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people,’” she concluded.