Hariri Says 'Disgraceful' to Mark Independence Day without President
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri said on Friday that it was “disgraceful” for Lebanon's Independence Day to be celebrated amid a vacuum at the Baabda Palace, calling for the election of a head of state whose priority lies in fighting strife.
“It is disgraceful for Independence Day to come in the absence of a president, who is given by the constitution the honor of oath to preserve the independence and the territorial integrity of the nation,” said Hariri in a statement.
The Lebanese will not be able to enjoy official celebrations on the independence's 71st anniversary on Saturday.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam said there would not be a military parade on Independence Day this year because the country remains without a head of state.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May.
“Independence is meaningless if there is an intention to replace the authority of the (French) mandate with a vacuum in constitutional institutions,” said Hariri.
“The insistence to remain in the circle of vacuum ... means there is an urgency to keep Lebanon divided and lost,” he warned. “This is an insult to the elite of men who made the independence and transformed it into a foundation for the National Pact and coexistence.”
Lebanon received its independence after French troops arrested Lebanese national leaders Beshara al-Khoury, Riad al-Solh, Pierre Gemayel, Camille Chamoun, and Adel Osseiran in Rashaya.
After national and international pressure, the prisoners were released on November 22, 1943 and that day was declared the Lebanese Independence Day.
Hariri reiterated his call for a “roadmap” to preserve Lebanon amid the regional turmoil and to hold consultations to agree on a presidential candidate.
The head of state's priorities should be “the revival of national dialogue, disabling landmines that cause strife and ending the security-military ties with the Syrian war,” he said.
“This roadmap forms the basis for the required stability and the embracing environment for the army and its role in controlling the border in addition to fighting terrorism,” Hariri added.
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