Suleiman: Some Flaws in the State Need to Be Addressed to Fortify Taef Accord
President Michel Suleiman revealed on Friday that he will propose a number of constitutional reforms to cabinet in the upcoming months.
He said before the new council of Arab journalists in Beirut: “I believe in the Taef Accord as it is, but in order to fortify the agreement, some flaws in state need to addressed.”
“These flaws have emerged gradually, the most recent of which was resignation of Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas,” he added.
“We have not properly implemented Lebanon’s democratic system, but this is the best system Lebanon can have,” he said.
The president explained that this system helped protect the country throughout the ongoing developments of the Arab Spring.
“I was hoping to achieve more reform and I have not stopped in this mission,” stated Suleiman.
Addressing the appointments of civil servants, he remarked that cabinet will be convened soon.
A dispute between Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the Free Patriotic Movement over the appointments forced the former to suspend cabinet sessions.
“Nothing can thwart these appointments as the constitution has stipulated the means in which they should be implemented, which is away from political affiliations,” Suleiman added.
Regarding Lebanon’s decision to distance itself from the Syrian crisis and its consequent “semi-isolation,” he said: “This is a sign of Israel’s intentions towards Lebanon.”
“Do any of the Arab states have the same geographic characteristics as Lebanon?” he asked.
He explained that the policies of these countries are determined by geography.
In this case, Lebanon’s only Arab neighbor is Syria “and therefore its decisions stem from its geo-political standing,” noted the president.
“Lebanon has adopted a good position on the crisis and we are the only Arab country whose sects determine its president,” he stated.
“This makes us more than ever committed to the Arab League article that each member state should respect the system of rule of another,” he added.
“Given this article, we, as friends of the Syrian people, hope that democracy will be established in Syria because if it is well, then Lebanon will be well,” he continued.
Addressing the national dialogue, he renewed his call to resume the talks in order to complete discussions on the country’s defense strategy and implement its previous agreements on the Palestinian and Resistance’s possession of arms.
He dismissed statements on whether the dialogue should be held with or without preconditions, saying that it is only important that regional instability be prevented from spreading to Lebanon.
The March 14 camp had stated that the national dialogue should only discuss Hizbullah’s arms, while party chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had said that it would agree to resume the talks as long as no preconditions are made.
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