The Oath Speech Of His Excellency General Michel Aoun President Of The Republic Of Lebanon, Lebanese Parliament, October 31, 2016
Your Excellency the President of Parliament,
Your Excellency the Prime Minister,
Honorable Members of Parliament and Ministers,
Honorable heads and members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Fellow Lebanese ladies and gentlemen,
I had undertaken to content myself with the oath if I were to be elected President of the Republic, especially that the oath of loyalty to the nation, literally stated by the Constitution, is an imperative proper commitment for the President of the Republic among the heads of the constitutional authorities in the State, bearing all the meanings, connotations and obligations.
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, who have been the strong fortress to which I resorted in the crucial commitments and critical choices.
The man who speaks to you today is the President of the Republic in whom you, assembly and people, have placed your trust, to assume the responsibility of the highest position in the State; a President who came out of a long path of struggle, 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 has come in hard times, and on whom high hopes are placed to overcome difficulties, not merely adapting to them, but ensuring the stability that the Lebanese long for, so that their greatest dreams are no longer confined in a suitcase.
The first step towards the desired stability goes through political stability. This can only be achieved by the respect of the National 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 context, comes the necessity to implement the National Agreement Document, integrally, without any selectivity or discretion, and to develop it according to the needs by a national consensus. Indeed, it is in one part a constitution, and in another one, binding national commitments. Therefore, it cannot be partially implemented, otherwise it shall become pale and weak, for no system or regime shall stand tall under it, and no legitimacy for any authority shall arise from it.
The uniqueness of Lebanon lies in its pluralistic and balanced society, and this uniqueness consists in living the spirit of the Constitution, through effective equal-sharing of power. Its primary 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 unexpectedly fall on us, the need to relentlessly address them, with our unity and mutual openness, and the acceptance of the other’s opinions and beliefs. This is how we preserve the pillars of our strength, and how we fill the gaps from which may leak the poisons of strife, fragmentation, tension and chaos.
Lebanon, stepping between mines, is still immune to the flames raging around it in the region. Our top priority is to prevent the spill of any spark. Hence, it is necessary to dissociate Lebanon from external conflicts, while remaining committed to the League of Arab States Charter, in particular article 8 thereof, while 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 conjunction.
As for the conflict with Israel, we shall spare neither effort nor resistance to liberate the remaining occupied Lebanese territories, and protect our country from an enemy still coveting our land, our water and natural resources.
We shall counter terrorism by adopting pre-emptive, deterrent, and defensive measures until we defeat it. We also have to tackle the issue of the Syrian Migration by ensuring the refugees quick return, striving to prevent the transformation of their camps and agglomerations into safe havens for terrorist activities. This achievement should be executed in a responsible way in cooperation with the concerned States and authorities, as well as the United Nations, for Lebanon was a co-founder, and is committed in the preamble of its Constitution Charter. We confirm that Syria cannot have a solution that doesn’t guarantee or start by the return of the refugees. As for the Palestinian refugees issue, we will continuously strive to consolidate and implement their Right of Return.
Regarding the stability at the security level, it can only be reached through full coordination between security and judicial institutions. Indeed, security and justice are linked with complementary tasks, and it is the regime’s duty to free them from political dependence, as it must curb their excesses so that citizens feel reassured about their performance, hence the State recovers its authority and prestige.
Strengthening the Lebanese Army in developing its capabilities shall be my concern and priority, so our army would be enabled to deter all kinds of aggressions against our country, and become a guard for its land, a protector for its independence and a keeper of its sovereignty.
As far as economic and social stability are concerned, the economic, social, financial, developmental, 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, beginning with an economic reform based on planning and coordination between the ministries and computerization in the various State departments. We cannot go on without a global 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 sets up the increase of a liberal economy mass, 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 educational, schooling and cultural sectors, contributes in building reliable generations that guarantee the future of the Lebanon we all long for. In fact, the main wealth of Lebanon lies in the Lebanese Diaspora spread around the globe, 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 form of coexistence, must be a main axis, not only in application of the National Agreement Document or in harmony with the essence of Lebanon, but also in line with the development of political regimes throughout the world.
This socioeconomic 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 control bodies enabling them to carry out all their duties.
The most important issue remains, that the Lebanese have faith in each other and in their State, a State that should protect them, provide them their rights and needs, while the President of the Republic is the warrantor of their safety and peace.
These are the main guidelines of a Presidential era, during which I truly hope a paradigm shift will be achieved by consecrating real national partnership at various levels of the State and constitutional authorities, in launching an economic reinvigoration that would reverse the downward track, and in watching over the soundness of the judiciary and the justice, which will pave the way for the rise of the Citizenship State after each of its components feels reinsured about their present, their future and their fate in Lebanon.
It is true that we were late in fulfilling what we dreamt of and struggled for, while many of our dear fellows were displaced all over the world, and many of our loved ones fell as martyrs, wounded, prisoners and missing. Nevertheless, I am confident that all the Lebanese, despite their awareness of a hard and long path, 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, Lebanon the Pact and the message.
His Excellency General Michel Aoun
The President of the Republic of Lebanon