The Office of the World President of the World Lebanese Cultural Union, Stephen Stanton, issued the following statement: There is no reform in the country as long as there are greater powers than the State

The World Lebanese Cultural Union is watching with great interest and concern the protests, strikes and demonstrations taking place in Lebanon to express the anger of the Lebanese people from the deterioration taking place at various fronts, social, economic, financial and political.

The World Lebanese Cultural Union shares the anger of the Lebanese people, as it has always warned in its statements, positions and the recommendations of its conferences, against the disregard of a rampant corruption in Lebanon, the continuation of the policy of sharing the spoils and refraining from carrying out the necessary reforms to correct the course of the State. We have warned in our latest statement that the discourse of some politicians is more threatening to Lebanon and the Lebanese from the flames that have devastated the country.

The World Lebanese Cultural Union is voicing its position to the Lebanese residents and the expatriates:

1- The Union supports the demands of the Lebanese people and their spontaneous descent into the squares, it acknowledges their issues and it will urge the Lebanese communities abroad to support their demands for a decent life. The WLCU is closely monitoring any violation of human rights, while calling on the demonstrators to maintain a peaceful movement and not to engage the military and security forces, maintain the prestige of the institutions and not to exploit private properties, for such a chaos will be exploited by bad elements.

  1. Reforms and the eradication of corruption are required immediately, and they occur first and foremost through the law and order and by practice secondly, by having the corrupt face justice, and by stopping the politicians who are implementing the policy of quotas, far from merits. These quotas are at the basis of corruption, as the appointees in certain positions in Lebanon and even abroad, become the tools of their masters to execute, carry out their objectives and share with them the theft of the homeland.
  2. The World Lebanese Cultural Union renews its commitment to the sovereignty, freedom and independence of Lebanon, away from indulging in regional conflicts and considers that as long as there is an internal force more powerful than the State and as long as Lebanon’s borders and crossings are open and vulnerable, the reforms will go in vain, as it is for the State alone to protect its citizens and their rights, the nation and its laws and its sovereignty, with its undiminished power, through its independent constitutional institutions, its army and security forces. Bluntly speaking, and so as not to miss the compass, this dilemma is the dilemma of all dilemmas, and if it is not resolved, in vain the builders shall build, and the reformers shall reform!