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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun |
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Saturday that only the state, the army, and the official security forces can protect Lebanon.
In a speech addressed to the Lebanese people this evening, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Lebanese Civil War, Aoun stated:
“Only the state can protect us — a strong, sovereign, just state that is present today. As long as we agree that any weapons outside the framework or decision of the state endanger Lebanon’s interests for multiple reasons, we all say: only the state, its army, and its official security forces can protect Lebanon. We must adhere to this position so that Lebanon may endure.”
He added, “All of us in this homeland have no refuge but the Lebanese state. Neither ideas that are smaller than Lebanon have a place in Lebanese reality, nor have delusions larger than Lebanon ever brought any good to our people or our nation.”
Aoun continued:
“It is our duty to have learned from the past fifty years that violence and hatred solve no problem in Lebanon, and that dialogue alone is capable of resolving all our internal and systemic issues. Every time someone seeks strength from outside against their partner in the homeland, they lose — just as their partner loses, and the homeland loses as well.”
The Lebanese president also stressed:
“We must remember the thousands of martyrs who fell from all parts of Lebanon since April 13, 1975, and the thousands of wounded whose injuries still bear witness, and the thousands of families whose wounds are yet to heal, as well as the missing
persons, who — along with their families remainthe perpetual victims of the war.”
It is worth noting that the Lebanese Civil War broke out on April 13, 1975, and lasted until 1990. It resulted in the deaths of around 120,000 people.