Traditional Army Day Ceremony Canceled Due to Presidential Vacuum
A ceremony will be held at the Fayadieh Military Academy to mark the 69th anniversary of the Lebanese army's founding instead of the traditional ceremony due to the ongoing presidential vacuum.
The traditional military parade held to mark the Army Day will not be held this year because of the failure of the political arch-foes to agree on a presidential candidate.
The central ceremony will also see the graduation of around 280 officers and their promotion to the rank of lieutenant.
The head of the military academy is expected to hand over certificates on Friday to the graduating officers until a new head of state is elected.
The new president will distribute swords to graduating cadets in a small ceremony soon after his elections.
Conventionally the president hands in swords to graduating cadets but the vacuum threatens the holding of the usual ceremony, prompting the cabinet to only grant the officers their certificates in a smaller social occasion.
The army command broadcast a televised ad under the slogan “We are Right and the People's Hope” to express its disappointment with this year's Army Day, which falls on August 1.
The ad shows officers cleaning their swords but never taking them.
“Due to the presidential vacuum, the traditional ceremony was canceled,” the ad says.
H.K.
M.T.
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