Aoun: Lebanon Won't Bow, PM Return a Matter of National Duty, Dignity

President Michel Aoun on Tuesday stressed that Lebanon “will not bow to any opinion, advice or decision pushing it towards internal strife,” noting that “those who want Lebanon’s welfare must help it immunize its unity because it is its security valve.”

“Were we supposed to disregard the issue of returning our premier to his country, which was a matter of national duty that was imposed on us?… It was a matter of the dignity of a nation and its people, who showed unique national cohesion,” said Aoun in an address to the nation on the eve of Lebanon’s Independence Day.

Addressing the Arab countries, Aoun said that “dealing with Lebanon requires a lot of wisdom and prudence, and anything to the contrary would push it into a blaze.”

“Despite everything that has happened, our hopes are still pinned on the Arab League, which should take an initiative based on the principles, goals and spirit of its charter, in order to preserve itself and its member states,” the president added.

He also called on the international community to “safeguard stability in Lebanon through the full implementation of international justice,” lamenting that “Lebanon has dissociated itself” from regional conflicts but that “the others have not dissociated themselves or their influence from it.”

“We are still wondering: from where did terrorism come into Lebanon? Who sent it? Who financed it? Who trained it? And why?” Aoun added, referring to the jihadist Islamic State and al-Nusra Front groups who were recently ousted from the eastern border region and who were responsible for several deadly bombings inside the country.

Lebanon has been gripped in a political crisis since Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a surprise resignation earlier this month from Riyadh, lambasting Iran and Hizbullah for their policies in Lebanon and the region.

The shock announcement sparked worries that Lebanon would be caught up in the spiraling tensions between Riyadh and Tehran, which back opposing political and armed groups across the region.

After resigning, Hariri spent two more weeks in Saudi Arabia amid rumors he was under de facto house arrest there, before traveling to Paris on Saturday. There, he pledged he would be in Lebanon in time to mark its independence day on Wednesday.

Aoun is yet to accept Hariri's resignation, which was not submitted in a formal manner.