President Michel Aoun highlighted the necessity to hold onto the Levantine values, identity and cultures, in a speech delivered Monday at the conference organized by the Levantine Gathering at the Hilton - Habtoor Hotel.

The following is President Aoun's full speech:

Esteemed audience,

For the Levantine Gathering to hold in Lebanon a conference that brings together in its workshops thinkers from the various components of the Levant, this is a commendable effort, especially amid the existential risks threatening the entities of our peoples and nations.

Indeed, a decade has gone by and our East is still at the epicenter of the storm, subject to all sorts of shocks: "springlike" internal wars that have torn and fragmented our peoples; destructive terrorist wars that have left behind hundreds of thousands of victims and displaced, and carved in the memory of our generations brutal images that will not be easily wiped away, pouring their grudge and ignorance on the longest standing historical, religious and cultural landmarks; acute economic wars that slowed down all growth attempts and weakened production, thus causing a succession of crises.

In parallel, Israel's supported policy contradicts all international laws, charters and customs and seeks to impose a new status quo to be added to what has already been imposed decades ago, starting with the Judaization of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the pilgrimage destination of universal religions, and its recognition as the capital of Israel, then the expansionist colonialist Israeli policy, continuously and methodically biting off Palestinian lands, along with the racist legislations, culminating in the blatant violation of the sanctity of international recognized borders, and the support of the annexation of lands that were occupied by force  such as the Golan Heights, in addition to the transformation of the Arab territories into a bargaining chip in the bazaar of electoral promises in the Israeli elections...

All the above, aside from being a blatant infringement of all international laws and resolutions, is a dangerous indicator of what is being prepared as well.

It is true that heated wars already receded to a certain extent. Yet, their repercussions persist, the most serious of which are the plans to exploit their outcome. As all indicators show, what is intended is to fragment the Levant from confessional, sectarian, racial, and geographical point of views, to pave the way for the consecration of new alliances on racial, confessional and ethnical bases, in line with the scheme that is being set up for the region, also known as "the Deal of the Century".

Spreading the concept of Islamophobia is a major part of this war, and the Takfir principle is the other part. Both cause a clash between two universal religions, an awakening of racism and an exaggeration of extremism, as they give birth to a succession of scared, rejecting, fanatical and spiteful generations, thus turning the "clash of religions and civilizations" into a reality and a fact. So shall we let these conflicts sweep us away or shall we resist them?

History cannot go backwards, and unilateralism - whether religious, racial or political - has fallen down in the whole world, in favor of pluralism and diversity. So, is it acceptable that our societies in this Levant are shifted into cloned unilateral entities from a bygone past, and into fanatical feelings and regimes whose majority has fallen, long time ago, and that are no longer in line with the common human civilization which is supposed to prevail in our world?

Is it possible that we allow this natural diversity in the East to be struck, knowing that all majorities and minorities fluctuated throughout history but persisted within the same geography?

Here, our role - rather our vocation - as Levantines is to develop a new culture that refutes all that is said or written about the clash of religions and civilizations because there is ONE multicultural human civilization; and the Levant which had exported religious thought to the world cannot allow being turned into a small isolated area.

As for Lebanon which represents, in its pluralistic society and composition diversity, a micro-picture of the composition of the Levant, its role and vocation are to remain a land of convergence and dialogue, a symbol of diversity and an opposite of unilateralism, rejecting all forms of intellectual and religious extremism.

Many say that those who observe politics and communication fora in Lebanon may think that our country is incapable of carrying out this role, because debate is always loud and controversy is raging.

We disagree in politics, yes. It gets loud, yes. Debates heat up, yes. Nevertheless, any difference between us remains under the ceiling of political disagreement and never gets to the core; it does not touch the freedom of belief, the freedom of faith and the right to difference, and it does not touch the nation, because these are the untouchable fixtures that are respected by all.

I therefore say it and repeat it: Yes, Lebanon - despite its never endingly interactive and irritable society, is a fertile land for encounters and dialogue. Based on my faith in this truth, I have sought to create an international Academy in Lebanon, aimed at countering the clash of civilizations through the dissemination of the culture of peace, under the label "Academy for Human Encounters and Dialogue", because real peace cannot be established on paper and between leaders, but rather between peoples. Getting to know the others, their civilization, religion and environmental affiliation consolidates societies with new concepts and creates a peaceful thinking method among people, based on acquaintance and understanding. Moreover, the convergence of civilizations produces a new civilization where the human thought renews and unleashes itself into a wider world and a vaster space.

In this Academy which has taken the path of execution after the support of more than 165 States at the UN General Assembly, students from various religions, cultures and ethnicities will meet, live together and learn together. They must discover then that they have similarities despite their differences and distinction, and that they share many hopes and dreams, as they share much pain and disappointment, and that they are the children of one human civilization. Then they will carry their experience back to their respective surroundings, and will contribute to spreading a new culture that upholds peace, tolerance and respect for diversity.

Esteemed audience,

Each one of us is "the other" for some "other"; and it is well known that "if another disagrees with you, open a dialogue with him" because man is the enemy of what and whom he ignores... These are our Levantine values, we shall continue to embody them and we shall not allow anyone to steal away our identity and our culture, or to drag us into options that contradict the interest of our nation, our people and our society.

Our meeting today is a step on a human journey down the road of this Levant. Our hope is that all efforts shall be concerted to keep it and preserve what it represents. Indeed, the Levant is much more than a geographical area. It is a thought, a spirit, a land that gathered and embraced. This is how it was throughout history and this is how it should remain: a future model for the whole humanity and a bright picture for the culture of peace.

Long Live the Levant, the cradle of cultures,

Long Live Lebanon!