President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, asserted that he will not leave his position without exposing all the corrupt, considering that the responsibility of restoring the country rests with his successor.

The President also called to encourage the brave people to take over the reins of government after the end of his term.

Regarding his accusation that he sought to implement the presidential system, President Aoun said “I do not want to create a presidential system. I want to be a president”, stressing that just as he imposed the forensic audit in the government, he is currently striving with regard to Capitol Control law.

President Aoun called on citizens to vote for the right choice in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

In addition, President Aoun stressed the necessity of reforming the judiciary and other institutions in the state, considering that there can be no reform as long as the institutions are maintained.

The President’s stances came while meeting the new Executive Council of the Maronite League headed by Ambassador, Dr. Khalil Karam, today at Baabda Palace.

The delegation included Vice President, Joe Issa El-Khoury and members: Raffoul Boustany, Tanios Njeim, Juhaina Mounir, Karim Tarbey, Youssef Imad, Antoine Amatoury, Natalie Khoury, Rebecca Abi Nasr, Mounir Akiki, Bechara Qerkafi, Elie Mikhael, Lahoud Lahoud, and Tanios Moneim.

At the beginning of the meeting, Ambassador Karam delivered a speech in which he said:

Speech of the President of the Maronite League, Ambassador Khalil Karam, to President Aoun, on the occasion of the visit of the members of the new council of the League to the Presidential Palace on 31/3/2022:

Your Excellency, President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun,

We visit you in the Presidential Palace, which symbolizes the unity of Lebanon, people, land, and institutions. The reference and refuge remains at the hour of the major choices and the fateful decisions that relate to the future of its existence, and a healthy homeland in which the characteristics of impregnable homelands are met, which are refrained from anyone who wants to bring them down, or delete them from the map of the distinguished presence that was the characteristic of the cedar homeland. Our homeland inspired human civilization with his alphabet, approximating distances, and bridges with letters on which the language of communication between the peoples of the ancient world was based.

Mr. President,

The Presidency of the Republic in Lebanon is a constitutional position. Rather, it is the first constitutional place. And the incumbent of its position is the President of all Lebanese. From here we see that the President of the Republic is the first reference, even though reforms in Taif took from the Presidency’s powers, we think it should have been preserved, in order for the authorities to be balanced and the rule to be straightened.

We are visiting you today, Mr. President, after the elections that took place in the Maronite League, which brought to the Executive Council a president and members who pledged to work together as a homogeneous team for the benefit of Lebanon and the Maronite community. Were it not for the endeavors of Bkerke, and the sect’s senior men and elites, the State of Greater Lebanon would not have seen the light of day.

Mr. President,

We are aware of the extent of your suffering, the pain that engulfs you and your grief over the tragic conditions that have befallen our beloved country. We are following up on the steps you are taking to get out of the depth of the bottle that is tightly applied to the neck of Lebanon. As well as the initiatives you put forward. Unfortunately, however, the magnitude of the challenges and problems exceeds intentions and initiatives, to raise serious questions about tomorrow, and the surprises that it may bring.

Mr. President,

From its position, the Maronite League defends Lebanon, the whole of Lebanon, and considers that this country is an area of civilized interaction between religions, the ideal place for dialogue between Christianity and Islam, and a qualitative place for living together in an environment characterized by cultural pluralism, and distinguished by diversity. But at the same time, it rejects, and on charter grounds, any prejudice to the rights of Christians, especially Maronites, in the state and society. It is of character, interest, and authority to pursue and resist any prejudice to the rights of these people and all Lebanese by all legal means, out of its absolute rejection of changing the demography and identity of the land, through settlement, normalization, foreign ownership, management imbalance, and double standards on the issue of balanced development.

The Maronite League calls for the establishment of a state of institutions as action, not slogan, and for the supremacy of its logic in security and administration. It affirms its commitment to stand by all rescue initiatives that are not conditioned by commitments that do not serve to consolidate the pillars of national unity. It is a unit that is keen on it and seeks to deepen it by working to complete the National Accord Document whose application was marred by a lot of distortion, jurisprudence and practices that resulted in a triple divorce between its text and spirit. This is sufficient to establish a constructive dialogue to address the imbalance, and remedy the worst.

Mr. President,

We thank you for your patience and good reception, and we pledge to you that we will remain swords for Lebanon, not against it. And the vigilant conscience of a bond entrusted with the legacy of Maroun and the heritage of the Cedars homeland, which will not falter and fall before the ordinary times, no matter how hard.

Long live Lebanon”.

President Aoun:

For his part, President Aoun welcomed the delegation and wished the Association President and members of the Executive Council success in their new term. The President stressed the national role played by the Association in light of the difficult circumstances the country is going through as a result of the multiple accumulations, as well as the war on Syria and the displacement crisis through the demonstrations and the Corona pandemic, all the way to Beirut port explosion.

The President said “If Lebanon was to have sufficient financial capabilities, it would have been more appropriate to help its citizens to overcome these circumstances, but its debts amounted to 168 billion dollars, amid the interruption of reconstruction”.

President Aoun also reiterated that he strived to reach the approval of the Forensic Audit in the Council of Ministers to determine responsibility for what the country has reached, especially since “The one responsible for preserving cash and its value is the Central Bank, just as the one responsible for the funds of the Central Bank is the governor of the bank”.

Recalling that the Council of Ministers approved the forensic audit on March 26, 2020, after a fierce war, the details of which are mentioned by everyone, the President pointed out that the investigation will begin next week to determine the sources of corruption.

The President also mentioned his previous positions since he was in France and then in the year 2000, in which he demanded to stop subsidizing the Lira, “Because it is not permissible to support it with debt, but with production and a balance between exports and imports, so we reached an import deficit estimated at 17 billion dollars, as well as a budget deficit estimated at 8 billion dollars. Unemployment increased to 25%, growth reached zero, and so on”.

Then, President Aoun revealed “The obstacles and pressures he faced in seeking to approve the forensic audit were also applied to him for not approving the Capitol Control by some who sowed terror everywhere, so depositors’ deposits flew and capitals were smuggled abroad”.

The President pointed out that the situation we live in today is due to accumulation of practices by some over the previous years, during which they sought to not implement the constitution.

“When I tried to implement the constitution, they accused me of applying the presidential system, while they are working to bankrupt Lebanon instead of reforming the situation in it and reviving its economy” the President added.

On the other hand, President Aoun asserted that he will not leave his position unless he has exposed every corrupt person, considering that the responsibility for restoring the country will fall on his successor.

In this context, President Aoun called to encourage the brave people to take over the reins of government after the end of his term, stating that an economic plan will be completed soon to be the beginning of economic recovery.

The President hoped that the largest percentage of depositors’ deposits will be collected and the process of revival will begin again.

Then a dialogue took place between President Aoun and members of the delegation, where the President renewed his position on the issue of the displaced and on the need of help from the international community to return them to their country.

President Aoun emphasized that Lebanon receives only the small part of the aid, while it incurs annually between 3 and 4 billion dollars despite its difficult economic and financial conditions, “This is according to the International Monetary Fund”.

President Aoun revealed his repeated demand for UN officials to increase aid to Lebanon, especially since the aid allocated to a number of countries hosting the displaced exceeds that which Lebanon receives.

Regarding the debates we are witnessing, President Aoun criticized the current situation after some have started to defend insults as a free opinion, stressing the need to reform the judiciary as well as other institutions.

“There is no reform as long as the institutions are caught. Rather, corruption will prevail and set the country back” President Aoun said.

President Aoun added “Lebanon is on the verge of parliamentary elections, and the people must know who to vote for and vote for the right choice in order to be able to reach the largest possible number of people so that they can change the existing image for the benefit of the country. There are new names nominated for these elections, some of whom have the potential to change”.

In response to another question, President Aoun clarified that the consensual political system in Lebanon has three heads so that if one of the Presidents violates it, no decision is taken.

“In this way, a country cannot be governed, so I proposed expanded and financial decentralization, but the Parliamentary Committee that had to accomplish the study did nothing in the relevant context” the President indicated.

Regarding Capitol Control’s law late approval, and if there is a plan to recover the smuggled funds abroad in violation of the principle of equality, President Aoun reiterated that just as he imposed the approval of the forensic audit in the Cabinet and approved the necessary amounts for this, he is currently striving with regard to Capitol Control, which has been refunded several times, in the Parliament.

President Aoun emphasized that if the two resolutions had been approved at their time, as he would have liked, they would have spared Lebanon a lot of suffering, noting that a number of countries that enjoy free economic systems have approved the Capitol Control, because there are necessities for its approval.

Former MP Rahme:

President Aoun met former MP Emile Rahme and deliberated with him public and political developments.

After the meeting, MP Rahme said: “I visited the President and I was briefed on the results of his visit to the Vatican and his meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis. The Holy See is concerned with the situation in our country and is keen that Lebanon overcome its ordeal and provides any possible assistance in this context”.

“President Michel Aoun assured me that the parliamentary elections will take place on time, and that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund are proceeding in a positive way. Also, the Capital Control Law must be approved after it responds to the concerns of citizens and concerned bodies and reassures depositors that their rights are preserved. The President renewed his determination to work to the end in order to achieve what serves the interests of the people in all fields, without being indifferent to the slander campaigns that target him” Rahme continued.

General President of the Capuchin Order in Lebanon:

President Aoun received the General President of the Capuchin Order in Lebanon, Father Abdullah Al-Nafili, accompanied by a number of fathers.

The delegation invited the President to participate in the ceremonial mass for the beatification of the honorable martyrs Father Leonard Owais Melki and Father Touma Saleh the Capuchin, which will be held on Saturday, June 4th at 6:30pm in the monastery of the cross in Jal El Dib.

The mass will be presided over by the President of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Mar Chilo Semeraro.

For his side, President Aoun congratulated the Capuchin monastery on the beatification, praising the spiritual, religious and social activities carried out by the Capuchin fathers in Lebanon and the world.

Lebanese Ambassador to Ukraine:

The President received Lebanon’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Ali Daher.

Ambassador Daher briefed President Aoun on the situation in Ukraine and the measures taken by the embassy and secured the evacuation of the Lebanese who wanted to leave Ukraine and the conditions of the remaining members of the Lebanese community who preferred to stay in Ukraine for various considerations, some of which are family and others are related to their interests, institutions, and other reasons.

President Aoun stressed the need to continue communication with the Lebanese in Ukraine, to check up on them periodically and help them.

Jordanian King Cable:

President Aoun received a Ramadan congratulatory telegram from Jordan’s King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein.

Text:

“It gives me great pleasure to benefit from the occasion of the celebrations of the Arab and Islamic nations by the holy month of Ramadan to send to His Excellency my dear brother, in my name and on behalf of the people and government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, my warmest congratulations and best blessings, asking God Almighty to restore this fragrant occasion to you with good health and to your brotherly people with more progress and prosperity”.

Source: National News Agency