Caretaker Minister of Interior Judge Bassam Mawlawi said that the way for Lebanon to “overcome its serious and repeated crises is to return to legitimacy, the Taif Agreement and the law.”
At a meeting with the Lebanese community in Riyadh, hosted by Fawzi Kabbara, Lebanon's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mawlawi stressed “the need, in Lebanon, for a strong state, with all its components and with ambition.”
In his view, the Lebanese army and security forces are responsible for imposing legitimate authority throughout the country and controlling its borders. In this sense, he asserted that the establishment of legitimacy is the basis for the strength and stability of the state. At the same time, it enables the state to resist external and foreign ambitions.
Mawlawi also stressed that if the Taif Agreement had been fully implemented, power would have been in the hands of the State. In this context, he stated that Lebanon is in a difficult region and its borders are sensitive.
“To face up to foreign ambitions and aggression, the State must be strong thanks to its people, its army, its legitimate security forces, its institutions and its economy, while applying the law and adapting to progress and modernity,” he declared.
Finally, the caretaker Minister expressed the hope that Lebanon would soon have a President of the Republic “with a vision and a plan,” asserting that “it is impossible to resort to the same paths that, in the past, led Lebanon to its current situation.” “We have full confidence in the fact that brotherly and friendly countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia, will be ready to return to Lebanon and invest in it,” he concluded, praising the successes of the Lebanese abroad.
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