Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam highlighted, during the launching of official talks over the national plan to fight terrorism at the Grand Serail on Wednesday, that Lebanon was in the heart of the battle against terrorism, and directly concerned with the international efforts to curb violent extremism.
“The importance of the international strategy to fight terrorism, espoused by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, and that of the work plan launched by the UN Chief in December 2015 to combat violent extremism, lies within two approaches: one that is global and relevant to fighting terrorism on all levels, and one that is local within each country,” he explained.
“Violent extremism is a plight surging worldwide; yet fighting it must not remain a general international headline, but must be part of thorough work,” he added.
“The deliberations we are launching today and which include Lebanon’s political, sectarian, social, and economic components, shall only lead us to draw a roadmap in order to reach a national plan to combat violent extremism,” he indicated.
“The current perilous situation requires mobilization of all energies and actions to guarantee a successful confrontation of terrorism,” he said, stressing that in Lebanon, the structure of the state must be enhanced and institutions’ work regulated.
“The first step is to speed up the election of a new president of the republic,” the Prime Minister maintained.
“Bolstering the state structure also requires reconsidering the democratic mechanisms that allow responsibilization and the selection of political elites, as well as participation in ruling the country through legislatives polls that should be conducted as per a new election law that guarantees right representation,” he continued.
He then underscored that the sole reference to regulate public life was the Constitution, including the National Pact.
Salam did not fail to hail the tremendous efforts exerted by the Lebanese military and security forces to face terrorism and extremism.
“We shall never forget our sons in the army, who are still held hostages by terrorists,” he concluded.
Source: NNA
