Lebanese president voices concern over domination of religious identities

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman cautioned Saturday about the dangers of the awakening and spreading of what he called religious and sectarian identities at the expense of the Lebanese identity. "The internal uprisings have turned into full-blown regional crises, which proves that the awakening of religious identities over national identity is a ready-made recipe for everlasting civil wars," Suleiman said during a ceremony held Saturday at Baabda Serail marking the unveiling of half statues of all previous Lebanese Presidents since the independence until the present day. He added that the stability in Lebanon could be secured through "a national contract that ensures political partnership and paves the way for developing Taif Accord, for power-sharing in Lebanon, to be a base for building a modern civil state." Suleiman went on to say that "any weapons outside the State's framework become part of the struggle over power and domination." He, however, underlined that the need to approach this thorny issue through dialogue and logic away from accusations and isolation policies. Regarding the presidential elections, Suleiman renewed his call on responsible leaders and members of parliament to "assume their duties towards securing quorum for the session to elect a new president within the constitutional deadline, so as to avoid falling into the risk of presidential vacuum."