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Aoun: Lebanon faces unprecedented crisis

December 28, 2019 at 10:34 am

Lebanese President Michel Aoun (C) in Beirut, Lebanon on 20 December 2019 [Lebanese Presidency/ Anadolu Agency]

Lebanese president, Michel Aoun, stressed that his country is facing “very severe circumstances and an unprecedented crisis in its history.”

Aoun called on the security forces in Lebanon to be vigilant in facing any security instability that may occur, to remain attentive to fight corruption and resolve the instability in accordance with their powers stipulated by the law, in addition to remaining cooperative “because they are aware of their national duties and are carrying them out to the fullest.”

He praised the efforts of the forces in maintaining security and stability in Lebanon, especially in the last seventy days of demonstrations, indicating that despite all of this, he hopes that the situation will gradually improve with the new government, and that Lebanon will overcome the crisis and return to its prosperity.

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Aoun also explained: “The economic and financial crisis we are living is 30 years old and is not a result of the present, and it started since the economy was transformed into an economy of tourism and services, and debts accumulated without the state paying it, and today it fell into a big deficit. So today we live in a period of austerity at the individual level and on the level of the state and its institutions, but this is required at the present time to help overcome the current crisis.”

Aoun announced two days ago that the new government will be a government of specialists.

The Lebanese president assigned Hassan Diab to form the new Lebanese government, after the resignation of Saad Hariri, under the pressure of the popular protests that the country has been witnessing since mid-October, demanding the formation of a government that includes ministers independent from political parties and the current authority.