Suleiman laments unrest, pays tribute to Resistance

Source: Daily Star, 20-06-2008

BEIRUT: President Michel Suleiman on Thursday met with representatives from the Higher Shiaa Muslim Council, members of the (former President) Elias Hrawi Remembrance Committee and entrepreneurs attending the 12th Annual Convention for Arab Investors and Businessmen (ACAIB), amid his continuing role in consultations for the formation of a national unity government.

After meeting with the vice president of the Higher Shiaa Muslim Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, Suleiman said that he hoped a "period of national reconciliation" would follow the eventual assembly of a consensus cabinet.

The president added that the Lebanese should "join together against the unrest" that has been plaguing the country and maintain the integrity of the Taif Accord, which ended the 1975-1990 Civil War.

Suleiman then turned his attention to the role of "the resistance movement in Lebanon," which he said had "the backing of all segments of Lebanese society."

The president said that the resistance, which was successful in "fighting and driving the enemy out" of Lebanon, should now "form a basic pillar of Lebanese democracy."

"The Lebanese Army has stood beside the resistance and its people, just as the resistance continues to stand by the army," added Suleiman, a former Lebanese Armed Forces commander from 1999-2008. "The most precious thing a man can possess is his nation - a free and sovereign nation above foreign control."

Suleiman continued by stressing that the Lebanese are "a people who resisted and defeated 'Israel', and deserve much more. They deserve to live safely... The national unity government should serve as an entry to the protection of national interests, and not additional disputes."
Suleiman then lent his support to the Hrawi Awards after meeting briefly with the Elias Hrawi Remembrance Committee, which invited him to attend its awards ceremony, which is scheduled for July 7. The award will be presented to professor of law and former Minister Hassan Rifai.

The newly elected president, who has yet to complete his first month in office, then met with a delegation of businessmen at Baabda Palace. Alluding to regional political rifts that have often been linked to the Lebanese divide, Suleiman said he believed the ACAIB being held in Beirut "is significant for its unanimous Arab attendance."

"The fact that this convention is being held in Beirut just a short time after the end of an [18-month political crisis] speaks volumes about the country's resilience," added Suleiman. "This resilience and what appears to be an Arab consensus illustrates precisely how and why Lebanon remains at the heart of Arab investment."