Suleiman: For a Safety Net Spearheaded by Army to Protect Lebanon, South

President Michel Suleiman on Thursday called for “creating a safety net, spearheaded by the army, that would protect Lebanon’s south, coast, sea and mountains.”

In a speech at the opening of the CNAM educational institute in Nahr Ibrahim, Suleiman said “only a permanent interaction with other cultures would lead to tolerance.”

Addressing students, the president added: “I know that you are worried like me concerning employment opportunities … and I know that this mission requires efforts from everyone, topped by the government … and hopefully oil and gas exploration will create new job opportunities.”

“You are invited, more than ever, to take part in what we’re aspiring to achieve, most importantly the broad administrative decentralization, which would do justice to several neglected regions in Lebanon,” Suleiman told the students.

He stressed that “it’s unacceptable anymore that youths leave the country in search of job opportunities.”

“It’s shameful for us to be occupied with the events around us while forgetting our domestic issues,” the president went on to say.