Lebanese President Michel Sleiman in independence address

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman President of the Republic, Michel Sleiman, called on "every individual, every party and all partners of the nation" to return to the logic of the state and institutional reference, and contribute to preserving Lebanon's independence in words and deeds.
President Sleiman's words came on Thursday evening in his live address to the Lebanese from Baabda palace, on the occasion of Lebanon's 70th Independence Day, in the presence of scores of commissioners, qaemaqams, heads of municipal unions, and senior state employees.
"It's hard to speak about independence, if we fail to organise parliamentary elections and the formation of a new government... in addition to sitting again at the table of dialogue- without closing the eyes to what has been previously agreed upon," Sleiman said.
The President also stressed the importance of holding upcoming presidential elections within constitutional deadlines, as part of preserving the notion of independence.
Sleiman underlined that the state of independence cannot rise once certain sides or Lebanese groups decide to dissociate from the notion of the state or extricate out of national agreement, through the adoption of decisions permitting the crossing of borders and engaging in an armed conflict on the territory of a sisterly land.
"This puts national unity and civil peace at risk," Sleiman noted.
President Sleiman also called on all spectrum of the Lebanese society to commit to laws in effect, provisions of the Constitution and the spirit of the National Charter, in order to avoid falling into the undesired sedition and strife.
The President also considered that the consecration of independence entails the fighting of poverty, ignorance, and corruption, in addition to the implementation of a balanced development across all the Lebanese territories at the economic, social and cultural levels.
He also underlined the need for freeing the judiciary from all facets of intimidation as an indispensable element for consecrating Lebanon's independence.
Sleiman also asked of politicians to avoid driving the country into a state of vacuum, hoping that the coming months prior to the presidential election's deadline would be marred by political movement, dialogue and decision- making rather than procrastination.
In abidance by the concept of the continuity of power, the Lebanese President outlined the main, motivating headlines for the upcoming months to be notably commitment to Baabda Declaration to dissociate Lebanon from the negative repercussions of the regional crises, immediate withdraw from the current conflict in Syria, the endorsement of a modern, fair election law, and agreement on a mechanism to fortify our constitutional system.
Upcoming headlines also entail the adoption of a draft law on administrative decentralisation, heeding special attention to social, health and daily living conditions of citizens, and the establishment of the independent commission for those who forcibly disappeared and the missing, he added.
Sleiman also stressed in his address that independence remains incomplete if we continue to consolidate sectarianism in our souls, instead of promoting the idea of citizenship and the logic of absolute loyalty to the homeland.
Source: NNA