President Michel Aoun received on Friday afternoon at Baabda Palace Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab, who briefed him on the latest developments related to the process of government formation. 

PM-designate Diab left afterwards without making any statement. 

Earlier, President Aoun met the Caretaker Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab and discussed with him the general developments in the country, and the issue of promotions of army officers. 

After the meeting, Minister Bou Saab said the following: "I would like to begin by extending congratulations to the Lebanese army and its officers on the occasion of Christmas and New Year, and with a heartfelt greeting for each soldier and officer, deployed on the borders and inside the cities. 

I would like to greet them, and say that this greeting is in the name of the entire Lebanese people, despite all what is being said and heard. We know that the soldier or the officer who sacrifices himself is making this sacrifice so that we all remain here. The seventieth days that have passed are the biggest evidence of the need for the readiness of the Lebanese army, its officers and soldiers. 

You remember that when we were discussing the budget, there was talk about measure No. 3, and how it should be dealt with. At that time I refused even to discuss the issue of this measure in the Cabinet, and I said that this issue should be discussed with the leadership and the Supreme Defense Council, and this is a decision that belongs to Defense. Imagine if we had then changed this measure, while today we want the army to be alert 24/24. From that, we have to know that the military has its own characteristics.

Why am I talking about this topic as an introduction? Because today, at the end of 2019, we have reached promotions due to the Lebanese army officers at various levels, from first Lieutenant to the rank of brigadier General. 

Yesterday, the registration tables were signed for 598 officers from the Lebanese army, from the rank of first lieutenant to the rank of colonel. And I expect that the decrees of this matter will proceed in a correct way, without problems. But we have a problem related to the promotion of colonels to the rank of brigadier general. There are 181 colonels nominated to become Generals. The Military Council met and approved the promotion of 126 out of 181. But we knew that this decision would face the problem of issuing a decree, meaning that the decree may not be issued by 126 Generals. 

In the cabinet when we were discussing the budget, we talked about reducing the number of Generals, but this reduction is when the annual promotion to the rank of General compared to the hierarchy of the army, not by depriving those who deserve promotion. And this does not mean also that if no one is promoted this year, then you will not. The upgrade takes place next year, so the initiative was to communicate with Prime Minister Hariri and inform him that the number of promotions for this year that can be reduced by 126, while preserving the right of those who are not promoted to next year or the next year. Some consider, and I regret to say that, that there is a defect in the sectarian balance in these promotions: I am a secular person and I know that the thinking of His Excellency the President is aware, specifically the military establishment should not be where the thinking of this kind are, but the country is governed by such decisions, which also affect the political life. 

In one of my meetings with Speaker Berri, I hoped that secular thinking would withdraw from all aspects of the Lebanese state, reaching a civilian state, which is the best solution. This also includes all the successful people in the Civil Service Council, the forestry guards, and every person who has succeeded in employment and injustice due to sectarianism. I am speaking these words specifically from the Baabda Palace, hoping that we will reach the day when the civil state will be realized, and that the thinking of the new Government will be in this direction. 

Therefore, I discussed the issue of promotions with His Excellency, and informed him of the options in front of me, knowing that I was not able to communicate directly with Prime Minister Hariri in a meeting, but rather I spoke to him on the phone, so that we could offer a solution to this issue. We still have three days before the end of the year, and if it ends without signing the registration list for promotions, all these officers who deserve to be promoted will lose the opportunity to become Generals. 

As for reform in the military, this issue is very necessary. We cannot talk about reform in Lebanon without thinking about reform in the military institutions. From the first day I spoke with the army commander and implemented practical decrees in this regard, five of which are ready, and two of them are still on the military council. 

These application decrees, added to them the army hierarchy according to the Defense Law, then we have the specific numbers required, and thus we continue to work in the House of Representatives or through the committees or through the President to take a step by step towards reform if it is in the military institution or outside it, and this is the thinking of the army commander also. Therefore, there should be more cooperation in the next stage to go in this direction, because reform is a march that extends for years forward."