Beirut, October 07 (QNA) - It is imperative to ensure that decisions of war and peace remain the purview of Lebanon's constitutional institutions, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said.
Speaking in remarks commemorating the centenary of the adoption of the Constitution and the founding of the Lebanese Republic, Salam maintained that the Taif accord wasn't merely a settlement to scuttle the war, but rather a renewed attempt to hash out how Lebanon could manage its diversity without allowing it to devolve into a struggle over the state.
That accord confirmed that Lebanon is a nation of all Lebanese, with an Arab identity and belonging, whose system is a parliamentary democracy based on the principle of separation of powers, their balance, and cooperation, he said.
Salam contended that popular sovereignty is meaningless when there are multiple sources of authority beyond the institutions that represent the people, and that the rule of law is likewise meaningless unless the law is enforced equally on all.
He remarked that state sovereignty wouldn't have been complete had decisions such as those concerning war, peace, and national security been taken outside its constitutional institutions. (QNA)