President Michel Aoun’s address to Parliament
The Daily Star/November 01/16
Below is the official translation of the full text of President Michel Aoun’s speech after he was sworn in at Parliament Monday.
“I had undertaken to content myself with the oath if I was elected president of the republic, especially that the oath of faithfulness to the nation, literally stated by the Constitution, is an imperative commitment for the president of the republic alone among the heads of the constitutional authorities in the state, and it bears all the meanings, connotations and commitments.
“Nevertheless, the prolonged political dysfunction, and the long vacancy in the presidency, urged me to directly address, through you, the great people of Lebanon who were always there for me, and were the strong fortress to which I resorted for the great commitments and crucial choices.
“The man who speaks to you today is the president of the republic in whom you – House and people – have placed your trust to assume the responsibility of the highest position in the state; a president who came from a long path of struggle which was filled with national responsibilities, whether in the military institution in which he grew and whose command he held, or in the exercise of public authority by constitutional mandate, or in the public service by popular mandate; a president who came in difficult times, and on whom high hopes are placed to overcome difficulties and not merely conform and adapt to them, and to ensure the stability that the Lebanese long for, so that their greatest dream is no longer the travel bag.
“The first step toward the desired stability is through political stability. This can only be achieved by the respect for the Pact, the Constitution and the laws, through the national partnership which constitutes the essence of our system and the uniqueness of our entity. In this respect comes the necessity to implement the National Entente Document, integrally, without any selectivity or discretion, and to develop it according to the need, through a national consensus. Indeed, it is, in one part, a constitution, and in another part, binding national commitments. It cannot therefore be implemented partially, otherwise it shall become pale and weak, no system or regime shall stand tall under it, and no legitimacy for any authority shall rise from it.
“The uniqueness of Lebanon resides in its plural balanced society, and this uniqueness consists of living the spirit of the Constitution, through an effective equal-sharing. The first of its obligations is to adopt an electoral law that ensures fair representation, prior to the next elections.
“As for security, the first of its pillars is national unity. We are all aware of the challenges that fall on us unexpectedly, and the need to address them relentlessly, with our unity and openness to one another, and the acceptance of the other’s opinion and belief. This is how we preserve the pillars of our strength, and how we fill the gaps from which may leak the poisons of sedition, fragmentation, tension and chaos.
“Lebanon, which steps between the mines, is still immune to the flames raging around it in the region. It remains at the top of our priorities to prevent the transmission of any spark to it. It is therefore necessary to dissociate Lebanon from external conflicts, while remaining committed to the Charter of the League of Arab States, and in particular Article 8 thereof, and adopting an independent foreign policy based on Lebanon’s higher interest and the respect of international law, in view of safeguarding the country as an oasis of peace, stability and encounter.
“As for the conflict with Israel, we shall spare no effort and no resistance to liberate the remaining occupied Lebanese territories, and protect our country from an enemy that still covets our land, water and natural resources.
“We shall deal with terrorism by preventing, deterring, countering and even eliminating it. We also have to tackle the issue of the Syrian refugees by ensuring a quick return, striving to prevent the transformation of the displacement camps and agglomerations into safe havens, in cooperation with the concerned States and authorities, and in a responsible coordination with the United Nations, of which Lebanon was a co-founder and to whose charters it is committed in the preamble of its Constitution; while affirming that there cannot be a solution in Syria that does not guarantee and begin with the return of the refugees. As for the Palestinians, we always strive to consolidate and implement the right of return.
“Security stability can only be reached by a full coordination between the security and judicial institutions. Indeed, security and justice are linked with complementary tasks, and it is the duty of the regime to free them from political dependence, as it must control their excesses for the citizen to feel reassured about their performance and for the state to recover its prestige and respectability.
“The promotion of the Army and the development of its capabilities shall be my obsession and priority, in order to enable our Army to deter all kinds of aggressions against our country, and to become a guard for its land, a protector for its independence and a keeper for its sovereignty.
“In terms of the economic and social stability, the economic, social, financial, development, health, environment and educational situation is subject to consecutive, rather continuous, crises, for many external and internal causes. While the external causes are out of our control and we can only limit their repercussions, the internal causes compel us to tackle them with a transformational approach which begins with an economic reform that relies on planning and coordination between the ministries and computerization in the various state administrations. We cannot go on without a comprehensive economic plan based on sectorial plans. Indeed, the state without planning cannot stand tall, and the State without a civil society cannot be built.
“Investing natural resources in productive projects lays the foundations for the increase of the volume of a liberal economy based on individual entrepreneurship and a partnership between the private and public sectors, within a targeted and developed financial vision.
“Moreover, investing in human resources, particularly in the education and knowledge sector, contributes to building reliable generations to guarantee the future of a Lebanon we all aspire to. In effect, the main wealth of Lebanon resides in the Lebanese spread throughout the world, those Lebanese to whom we owe the continuity and dissemination of Lebanon’s message, as well as the resident Lebanese who are entitled to live in a sound political environment and a clean natural environment.
“The administrative decentralization, with its combination of flexibility and dynamism in providing people’s needs and services, while preserving its specificity within the formula of coexistence, must be a main axis, not only in the application of the National Entente Document or in harmony with the nature of Lebanon, but also in line with the development of the world regimes. This socio-economic reform can only succeed with the consecration of a transparency system by embracing the legal system that helps prevent corruption, by appointing an anti-corruption committee, and by activating the control organs and enabling them to carry out all their duties.
“The most important remains that the Lebanese have faith in each other and in their state, that the state is their protector, the provider of their rights and needs, and that the president of the republic is the guarantor of safety and peace.
“These are the headlines of a presidential term during which I truly hope that a paradigm shift will be achieved in consecrating real national partnership at various levels of the state and constitutional authorities, in launching an economic rising that would reverse the downward track, and in watching over the soundness of the judiciary and justice, which is likely to pave the way for the rise of the state of citizenship, after each of its components would have felt reassurance about their present, about their future and about the fate of Lebanon.
“It is true that we were late in fulfilling what we dreamed of and struggled for and for which many of our dear fellows were displaced in the four corners of the world and many of our loved ones fell as martyrs, injured, prisoners and missing. Nevertheless, I am confident that all the Lebanese, despite their awareness that the road is hard and long, have the determination, will and courage to achieve together what we vowed our life for: A strong and unified Lebanon for all its citizens, a Lebanon of freedom and dignity, a Lebanon of sovereignty and independence, a Lebanon of stability and prosperity, a Lebanon of Pact and message.”