Suleiman Calls for Apology to the People over Lack of Respect to Dialogue Decisions
President Michel Suleiman urged on Tuesday Lebanon's rival political parties to apologize to the Lebanese people over their failure to implement decisions reached at the all-party talks.
“We should apologize to the Lebanese people” for lack of respect to the decisions taken at the national dialogue table, Suleiman said during a speech at an awards ceremony held at Baabda Palace.
“Unfortunately we haven't respected what we've agreed to in parliament and the national dialogue sessions in Baabda,” he said.
“We haven't made enough effort to force certain parties to respect the agreements,” he said in reference to Hizbullah, without mentioning it.
“Some parties have backed off from the Baabda Declaration,” Suleiman said in another reference to the Shiite party, which has been locked in a verbal dispute with him.
The declaration was adopted by the representatives of the rival parties during a national dialogue session in Baabda in June 2012.
The leaders from the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance and the March 14 coalition agreed to distance Lebanon from the policy of regional and international conflicts.
Suleiman said during a speech earlier this month that Lebanese parties should not hold onto inflexible equations that hinder the adoption of the new government's policy statement.
His remark drew a sharp retort from Hizbullah, which said the president needed “specialized care.”
“The Baabda Declaration was the major reason for the creation of the International Support Group for Lebanon which has taken major decisions,” he said.
“Those not respecting the decisions of the Group would be held responsible for the failure to implement them,” he said.
The future governments should follow up on the donations made by certain countries to help the Lebanese army and the country's economy, Suleiman added.
The International Support Group for Lebanon, which was formed in New York in 2013, appealed last week for nations to extend pledges of financial help for the country.
Participants at the ministerial meeting in Paris stressed the need "to not only speed up the promised aid but provide additional help."
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/122102 |