Lebanese revolted in-order to protect Cedars, attain independence
President Michel Sleiman on Saturday called on all Lebanese to establish dialogue as a means of communication, rather than engaging in competition and trading insults.
“Every household in Lebanon supports reform, transparency and integrity, and all Lebanese parties have yielded heroes and fought in the resistance,” he said, speaking during a mass at Harissa.
He also stated that over recent decades many Lebanese have “revolted to protect the cedars and obtain independence, so do not allow anyone to harm these ideas.”
“Let us transform Lebanon into the Switzerland of the East… and Beirut as the Paris of the Arabs,” Sleiman said as he called for restoring Lebanon’s leading regional role so it could attract foreign investment.
He said that he was not concerned that Lebanon would again be dominated and ruled by external powers, because he said it was treated as a sovereign country internationally.
“Let us call on the expatriates to return and join us so that we can unify our ranks,” he said, adding that “together we can restore a true democracy.”
Sleiman affirmed that his inauguration speech was a “pledge” made publicly.