President Aoun calls for proclamation of "secular state" in Lebanon

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President Michel Aoun on Sunday recognized the need to change the political system in Lebanon and called for the proclamation of a “secular state” on the eve of the visit of French Head of State Emmanuel Macron who is pushing for the reform of the religious system.

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"  Because I am convinced that only a secular state is capable of protecting pluralism, of preserving it by transforming it into real unity, I ask that Lebanon be declared a secular state ", affirmed the Lebanese president in a speech to the occasion of the centenary of Lebanon.

The Head of State had so far remained deaf to the demands of the protest launched in October 2019. Sunday evening, he pledged to "  call for dialogue between religious authorities and political leaders in order to arrive at a formula acceptable to all  ”which would require constitutional amendments.

Emmanuel Macron, the first foreign leader to visit Lebanon after the deadly explosion at the port of Beirut, had urged politicians to undertake vital political reforms. He spoke on Friday of the "  constraints of a denominational system  " which led "  to a situation where there is almost no renewal (political) and where there is almost an impossibility of carrying out reforms  ".

Successive Western officials in Beirut have joined the Lebanese's calls for deep political change after the Beirut port disaster that left at least 188 people dead, and for which the political class is held accountable through negligence and corruption.

► Read also: Explosion in Beirut: a crying and angry crowd pays tribute to the victims

A few hours earlier, the head of powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, an ally of President Aoun, had announced that he was ready to discuss a new "political pact" in the country, where religious communities are sharing power.

Mustapha Adib new Prime Minister?

These announcements came on the eve of the appointment of a new Prime Minister , who should be an ambassador, Moustapha Adib, chosen by the heavyweights of the Sunni community, contrary to the expectations of the protest movement.

Mustapha Adib's candidacy was retained by four former Prime Ministers and received the endorsement of the head of state Michel Aoun and the Shiite Amal Movement and Hezbollah, reports our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh.

Former professor of social sciences at the Lebanese University, before being appointed ambassador to Germany, Moustapha Adib would therefore have a comfortable majority to take the head of the executive, a few hours before the arrival of Emmanuel Macron.

After the announcement of the name of the next prime minister, protesters closed roads in protest, especially in areas with a Sunni majority. However, Moustapha Adib was dubbed by the main political leaders of this community, from which the Prime Minister still comes.

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• Lebanon
• Michel Aoun

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