Lebanese president calls for proclamation of secular state

Lebanese President Michel Aoun yesterday acknowledged a need to “change the system” and called for the proclamation of a secular state on the eve of a visit by his French counterpart.

Aoun’s political ally Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah also said in an earlier address he was open to Emmanuel Macron’s proposal for a new political pact in Lebanon.

“Lebanon’s youth are calling for change,” the 85-year-old Aoun said in an address that was interspersed with footage from last year’s anti-government protests.

“Yes, there is a need to develop, modify, change the system... Call it the way you like, but Lebanon most definitely needs to be running its affairs in a new way,” he added.

Aoun offered few details but called “for the proclamation of Lebanon as a secular state” and a dialogue that could lead to constitutional amendments.

Hezbollah open to a new political pact

On the eve of Macron’s return, Nasrallah also adopted a conciliatory tone.

“On his latest visit to Lebanon, we heard a call from the French president for a new political pact in Lebanon... Today we are open to a constructive discussion in this regard,” Nasrallah said.

“But we have one condition: this discussion should be carried out... with the will and consent of the various Lebanese factions,” he said in a televised speech broadcast a few hours before Aoun’s address.

Nasrallah did not say what changes Hezbollah was willing to consider.

Lebanon recognises 18 official religious sects and its 128 parliamentary seats are divided equally between Muslims and Christians.

Governments born out of this system have been prone to deadlock and failed to meet popular demands to improve living conditions.

The main framework of Lebanon’s current mode of governance is the 1989 Taef accords. They led to the end of the 1975-1990 civil war but have since become a by-word for the kind of sectarian-based politics that many want to get rid of.