Islam Times - President Aoun Underlines Role National Unity in Overcoming Crisis

Islam Times - On the occasion of the Lebanese Army Day on August 1, the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, congratulated the military institution, its leadership, officers, sergeants, and individuals.

The President said: “For the second year in a row, the tradition of handing over swords to graduating officers on Army Day is absent, due to the circumstances of the Corona pandemic, but this holiday, with its patriotic meanings, values, moral and historical dimensions that it injects into souls, cannot be absent from the conscience of the Lebanese and their pride in the institution that was made in various stages and circumstances. This institution was established through sacrifices, offering blood and martyrs in order to maintain security and stability, and to strengthen democratic foundations in Lebanon.”

“Today, despite the harsh economic and financial conditions, and the very difficult life challenges faced by the Lebanese, including members of the army, everyone feels that the army is still the surest guarantee of stability and national unity, despite the suffering of the military from the intensification of financial hardship on them, which we hope that we will soon witness the beginning of its decline, through the formation of a salvation government. A government which the Lebanese look to as a salvation from the blockage of the doors of solutions in their faces”.

“You have never hesitated to answer the call of duty, wherever you were, spread out in the Lebanese Bekaa. No matter how heavy your burdens are today, I have great confidence that you will remain the watchful eye of the country, the chest which protects freedoms, institutions, and the foundations of the democratic state which the Lebanese meet under, from all sects and religions, as stipulated in the constitution. The constitution entrusted you with the task of defending it. I pledge to you that I will do my best, so that your dignity and rights remain preserved, and that the political authority provides you with the care you deserve” President Aoun added.

“The commitment of the international community, especially in the recent period, to support the army institution is a firm sign of its confidence in your role in protecting the Lebanese entity and its constitutional institutions” the President emphasized.

Moreover, President Aoun saluted graduating officers, and said: “This year, the pandemic conditions deprived us of the sword imitation ceremony in your session, which you called the “Great Lebanon Centennial,” but I recommend that the sword of military and moral education that you received at the College of Honor, Sacrifice and Loyalty remains raised in your hands in the face of conspirators against Lebanon’s security at home and abroad”.

“Let your foreheads be shining with truth, and your heads raised in the face of those who try to harm your integrity, effectiveness and morality” President Aoun continued.

The President concluded by calling on the Lebanese on this occasion to rally around the army, and to preserve their national unity, “Which constitutes the solid basis for building Lebanon, and the gate to exit from the dark tunnel through which they pass”.