President Aoun: We hope that the new MPs will do their full work in terms of monitoring the work of the government and implementing the necessary legislation to put Lebanon on the path of recovery, and electing a new president of the republic who will complete the road map that we have set, which will ensure an end to the difficult situation we are living in
Aoun: Solving the economic crisis requires a comprehensive reform program and achieving economic and financial stability by establishing effective policies and building confidence by all parties involved in the losses of the financial system
Aoun: I will achieve what I have called for, and in the event that time is not enough, I would have left a road map for those who will succeed me
Aoun: Lebanon is in an active and intense international context, let’s establish a unified position that we hold on
Aoun: The Israelis know that the loss will be great if they attack Lebanon, knowing that Lebanon is committed to international resolutions. Preceding from not giving up the right to oil and gas and not normalizing relations with Israel, even through the sharing of oil fields
Aoun: Addressing the defense issue, by consensus and comprehensively by all parties…I called for a comprehensive national meeting to tackle this matter after discussing the economic and financial situation
Aoun: Lebanon does not find itself far from its Arab neighbors, nor do the Arabs find a way to dispense, but strengthening relations between Lebanon and the Arab countries is essential to its political and economic stability
Aoun: Lebanon has friendly relations with all of Russia and Ukraine and encourages talks between the two parties as the only way for peace
The President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, hoped that the new Parliament, which will emerge from the parliamentary elections, “would live up to the hopes of the Lebanese, and the new MPs will do their full work in terms of monitoring the work of the government, implementing the necessary legislation to ensure that Lebanon is placed on the path of financial and economic recovery, and electing a new president to complete the road map that we have set, which will ensure an end to the difficult situation in which we are all living through.”
He noted that “the parlaiment has the responsibility to keep pace with moving Lebanon to another stage by approving many legislations that help lay the foundations for a productive and permanent economy, and a financial strategy that preserves the rights and savings of the Lebanese. The most important thing is to hold accountable all those who committed financial crimes and brought the country and the people to this dire reality.”
President Aoun gave an exclusive interview to the Qatar News Agency (QNA). He expressed his regret for not securing the necessary representation for the Lebanese expatriates in Parliament, expressing his hope that this would take place as of the upcoming elections, and at the same time expressing his content thatLebanon was able to pass an electoral law in 2018, it took into account the need to adopt proportionality, although it is not up to the ambitions, but it is much better than the old law.
The President of the Republic stressed that “the Lebanese security and military forces have set up a tight plan to ensure the security of the parliamentary elections that will be held Sunday, and in order to avoid major problems that may lead to the postponement or failure of the voting operations.”
President Aoun explained, “The parliamentary elections for the Lebanese in the countries of the diaspora, which took place last Friday and Sunday, showed two important things: the first is the fall of the false allegations and accusations against us by working to disrupt or obstruct the parliamentary elections, knowing that I have personally been keen to overcome all the difficulties and I was the most insistent on respecting their constitutional dates. The second matter was the enthusiasm of the Lebanese scattered abroad to participate in this constitutional right, and their desire to make their voice heard and had not forgotten their country.”
He saluted all those who contributed to the first phase of the elections, despite all the unprecedented difficulties, hoping that the second phase in which the residents will be voting, will be similar to the previous one, “so that a new Parliament will emerged and will meet the aspirations and ambitions of the Lebanese, wherever they are inside or outside the country.”
Economic crisis:
Regarding the economic and financial crisis, President Aoun said: “the agreement with the International Monetary Fund is the beginning of the path towards recovery.”
He believed that “the long-term accumulations have brought Lebanon to the current situation, in addition to relying on the rentier economy, not the product, and the failure to put in place sufficient laws to activate oversight and reduce waste and corruption, all of which have combined to throw their weight on the shoulders of the Lebanese.”
He added, “Today, resolving the crisis requires a comprehensive reform program and achieving economic and financial stability.”
President Aoun revealed that “the goal of reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund is not only to obtain an amount of three billion dollars, or any other amount, as much as it is to lay down a valid road map for a valid economic and financial future vision that secures stability on these two levels and allows the Lebanese to recover and be reassured about the future.” He promised that “the Lebanese government has developed a plan, which it called the “Economic Recovery Plan”.
He said: “The problem does not lie in whether Lebanon is able to stand on its feet again, but rather in the time period for this matter,” adding: “Lebanon, during its ancient and contemporary history, experienced very complex problems that threatened its entity, identity and existence, and this is something that the Lebanese have become aware of knowing the futility of engaging in confrontations and problems that destroy them all.”
Obstacles:
Asked about the obstacles he faced in implementing the reforms, President Aoun said: “Unfortunately, I faced many obstacles by some beneficiaries to keep the situation as it is in Lebanon, and what should have been accomplished very quickly, required years to do, similar to the issue of the forensic audit that was approved and then suspended of implementation before I work again to move the wheel. It was not targeting one institution in itself, but rather stems from the Banque du Liban to include all public institutions and administrations, because the fact that money has been smuggled outside Lebanon in a difficult circumstance for the Lebanese must not be overlooked, and it must be known who did this and who facilitated and participated in this conspiracy against the people.
He added: “Yes, there are people who are perpetrators, but they receive protection from influential people in Lebanon, but I have not given up and will not despair, and I will continue to work to achieve goals in this context even after the end of my presidential term.”
He affirmed: “I will work during the remaining of my presidential term to achieve what I have called for, and in the event that time is not enough for that, I will at least have left a road map that my successors can emulate.”
The security situation:
The President of the Republic pointed out that “it was not easy to maintain security and stability in Lebanon while the region was raging with conflicts, and in light of the fierce war that Syria.”
He explained that “despite the great differences of opinion among the Lebanese, they all agreed that the security factor is the main common demand for the survival of the country and the preservation of its identity, otherwise they will all lose and enter an unknown fate.”
He added: “Therefore, we worked to strengthen this cohesion among the Lebanese first, and facilitated the rally around the Lebanese army and the security services, which played their full role.”
He pointed to “the concern about terrorist operations that remains present at all times, a matter that threatens all countries of the world, as we have unfortunately seen. It is the duty of the security forces and the military establishment to take all necessary measures to control sleeper terrorist cells by conducting proactive security operations and exchanging information with the intelligence services of brotherly and friendly countries.”
Syrian refugees:
The President of the Republic renewed his position on the “necessity of returning the displaced Syrians to their homes in light of Lebanon’s inability to bear the economic consequences of this displacement.”
He said: “My position has been announced since the first day of the war in Syria, when I said that it is necessary to receive displaced persons who are injured or who really need to flee from Syria in order to preserve their lives. As for the rest, Lebanon has no ability to accommodate and receive them, which is the smallest country in terms of space among countries of the region,” noting that “his calls did not receive the required response, so the influx got hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians to Lebanon, to reach the largest number of population density per square kilometer, of 600 people.”
He revealed, “The foreign countries did not accept their return to their country, and put pressure on the displaced to stay, which is an unfamiliar matter and raises suspicion.”
He declared that “Lebanon is in the process of moving actively and intensively on the international level in order to raise this issue, and “we will not accept the threat of Lebanon’s fate to satisfy anyone. We will have a unified Lebanese position that we will carry to the world during the coming period in more than one regional and international forum.”
Israeli ambitions:
The President of the Republic warned against the ambitions of the Israelis in the Lebanese wealth of oil, gas and water, ruling out at the same time the Israel would launch an aggression against Lebanon, expressing his belief that “the enemy will not seek such an adventure now because the price will be very high, and Lebanon will stand united in the face of it.”
He revealed, “Lebanon has started from not giving up its right to oil and gas, and not normalizing with Israel, even through the sharing of oil and gas fields is open to offers that reach it within this ceiling. It may serve as a platform from which to launch.”
He added, “Thanks to the American mediation that negotiations remain in place in an indirect way, even though they have practically stopped due to the time required to study options and proposals, but this does not mean that the negotiations have ended and that the file has been closed,” noting that “any preliminary or final agreement should be issued by the concerned authorities, i.e. the President of the Republic, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament.
Defensive Strategy:
On Lebanon’s implementation of the unified defense strategy that is based on confining arms to the Lebanese army in light of the criticism directed from abroad about the presence of arms in the hands of Lebanese parties, President Aoun said: “Tackling an issue of this magnitude requires a comprehensive consensus by all parties. The defense strategy cannot be adopted and applied by one party,” noting that “he had previously presented to the Lebanese parties his objective vision to reach a suitable ground for discussion on the issue of weapons and how to confront Israeli threats and ambitions in particular.”
He explained, “There are currently developments that have imposed themselves in the world and the region, and they cannot be ignored when talking about a defense strategy, so I called for a comprehensive national meeting to discuss this matter, but after discussing the most vital issue of the economic and financial situation, and while agreed to agreed the call, others decided to ignore it.”
Relations with Arab countries:
While the President of the Republic warned of the danger of inter-Arab differences and their negative impact on all Arab countries, he “expressed Lebanon’s commitment to the position of solidarity and unity among Arab countries”, stressing “Lebanon’s keenness to establish the best relations with Arab countries in general and the Gulf countries in particular.” He said: “Lebanon is an Arab country, from the core of the Arab nation, and it is an essential pillar in the permanent call for cohesion, solidarity and unity among the Arab countries, because of the belief that this is in the interest of all these countries, and we have all witnessed the impact of Arab division and disputes and their negative repercussions on all other countries and people.”
President Aoun valued Qatar’s “permanent standing by Lebanon in the difficult times noting that “this relationship has been strengthened at the level of leaders in the two brotherly countries and peoples over time.”
He pointed to”the depth of the Qatari-Lebanese relations as the relationship between Lebanon and Qatar is not new, but rather is old and reflects the brotherly ties that unite the two countries and peoples.”
He stressed on “the keenness of the Lebanese and Qatari sides to continue and develop this relationship due to the common desire to preserve it.”
The war in Ukraine:
On the war in Ukraine, President Aoun said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned this war, and it is a principled Lebanese position that reflects Lebanon’s commitment to the foundations of dialogue and understanding away from arms, which has suffered from catastrophic repercussions as a result of resorting to arms to solve problems.”
He explained, that “Lebanon’s position on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis stems from the need to adopt the language of dialogue to solve problems between countries. Therefore, we see that the principles of the Human Rights Bill and the principles of the United Nations are based on dialogue and not on violence.”
He said,”Lebanon has friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, and therefore it pains to watch the outbreak of war between them.
The President of the Republic reiterated that “Lebanon does not wish to compromise its relations with anyone, but believes that there is no alternative to understandings, and encouraging the ongoing negotiations between the two countries because it is the only way that will lead to the desired results, while the war will only delay this solution and cause grief and loss to everyone.”
Source: National News Agency