Strong Republic bloc held its regular meeting on Tuesday in Maarab under the chairmanship of Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, issuing a statement upon the end of the meeting read by bloc Secretary, former MP Fadi Karam, whereby conferees stressed that "the priority should always be the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese people. (...) On this basis, the Lebanese Forces called for the immediate formation of the government. If this proves impossible, the caretaker government should be reactivated on the basis of urgent meetings and according to a specific agenda in order to lift the country out of the prevailing economic deterioration which can no longer be tolerated."
The bloc stressed that "the current vacuum is not similar to the previous vacuum cases in light of the present economic situation. Therefore, betting on the factor of time is not only misplaced, but is a crime against Lebanon and the Lebanese."
"On the occasion of World Anti-Corruption Day on December 8, all political parties are invited to contemplate the problem of corruption ravaging the Lebanese State, especially in recent years, and make a final and clear decision to abide by the ethical and legal rules required in everything related to State work," the statement read.
Conferees stressed that "the Constitution (...) states that the formation of governments is within the powers of the Prime Minister-designate and the President of the Republic. Even if each team has the right to express views related to the government formation, but these remain mere proposals, and the last word remains that of the President and the PM-designate."
The statement added that the "official announcement made by the UNIFIL of a tunnel near the Blue Line calls on the Lebanese government to immediately convene so as to formally ask Hezbollah to desist from such practices exploited by Israel as a pretext for launching wars against Lebanon. Moreover, (...) the Lebanese State should not remain stripped of its strategic decision and its sovereign and international elements. Based on this, only the Lebanese government should determine the means and methods of confrontation with Israel."
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