Suleiman Draws New 'Equation,' Balances between Baabda Declaration and National Pact
President Michel Suleiman said Friday that the land, people and common values formed the country's “permanent equation,” stressing that the Baabda Declaration was similar to the National Pact.
“The land, people and common values form the golden and permanent equation for the nation,” Suleiman said in a speech at the “My land: a promising future” conference held at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.
“The Baabda Declaration has become part of the nation's principles and similar to the National Pact,” he said.
The National Pact of 1943 is an agreement that laid the foundation of Lebanon as a multi-confessional state.
Under the Baabda Declaration, which was adopted in June 2012 during a national dialogue session headed by Suleiman, the rival March 8 and 14 camps agreed to keep Lebanon away from the policy of regional and international conflicts.
They also agreed to back the Lebanese army both financially and morally as the guarantor of civil peace and national unity.
Suleiman is insisting on making the Baabda Declaration the basis of the new government's policy statement. But the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance, including Speaker Nabih Berri, who is the head of the Amal movement, is holding onto the people-army-resistance equation.
The Declaration “transcends the policy statements of governments. Everyone will need it and seek to implement it,” the president said in his speech in a clear retort to Berri, who said in remarks published on Friday that he would “not give up or reach a settlement on any single letter of (the resistance) letters.”
Suleiman also urged the members of the committee drafting the policy statement not to hold onto “fixed equations that obstruct the approval” of the blueprint.
Suleiman called for a commitment to constitutional events such as holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on time.
He urged the new government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam to approve the new electoral draft-law.
Suleiman rejected terrorism and called on confronting arms proliferation.
The path towards arming the military began through the $3 billion Saudi grant and will continue through intentional conferences in France and Italy, he said.
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