Suleiman Says New President Should be 'Strong,' 'Loyal to Lebanon'
President Michel Suleiman called on Wednesday for the election of a strong head of state, who pledges full loyalty to Lebanon.
“The new president should be strong, not weak… and consensual if possible or should belong to a certain political camp and be fully loyal to Lebanon,” Suleiman said during a ceremony at Baabda Palace.
He should follow up the discussions on the national defense strategy and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Suleiman stressed as he launched an administrative decentralization plan.
“We can't build a state without having a defense strategy to protect everyone, including the resistance,” he said.
“The new president should seek to implement the decisions reached at the national dialogue ... including the Baabda Declaration,” he added.
Decentralization consolidates national unity and diversity, said Suleiman.
It avoids obstruction of work at state insinuations, allows youth to participate in governance and creates an incentive for good performance, he stated.
Suleiman said the decentralization plan also encourages partnership between the public and private sector, creating job opportunities for the youth.
Suleiman said transparency is a major aspect of the plan. “It would allow citizens to hold officials accountable.”
The president lauded the armed forces on their security plan in the northern city of Tripoli and the areas bordering Syria in the Bekaa Valley, saying they have been successful in thwarting terrorist activities.
But he stressed the importance of establishing a police unit at the level of the district.
Suleiman hoped the decentralization plan would become a draft-law so that the cabinet approves the decree before his term expires on May 25.
G.K.
M.T.
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