Independence Day celebrations were held across Lebanon Thursday amid a government deadlock and counter-accusations in the reasons behind the cabinet formation delay.
President Michel Aoun presided over a military parade marking Lebanon's 75th Independence Day at the Shafic Wazzan Avenue in downtown Beirut, in the presence of Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun and a number of former presidents, ex-speakers, former premiers, ministers, deputies, and senior political, military, religious, judicial, diplomatic, economic and media figures.
Aoun addressed a word of pride to Lebanese soldiers, assuring them of being the guarantors of this country in the face of storms and challenges.
"Today, as we celebrate the 75th Independence Day, we have put this national celebration in your hands so that you can preserve it," he told troops.
“With you, we turn independence into hope and promise to move towards a prosperous future of peace and prosperity," he said.
At the end of the celebration, the President headed back to the Baabda Presidential Palace to accept congratulations on the occasion, along with the Speaker and Prime Minister.
However, the day ended with no developments on the cabinet crisis, despite a closed-door meeting held between Aoun, Berri and Hariri prior to receiving well-wishers at the Presidential Palace.
“There is nothing new at all,” Berri told reporters when asked about the latest developments.
Also speaking to reporters from Baabda, Hariri said: “The solution is not in my hands.”
He was hinting to Hezbollah’s responsibility in hindering the government formation process by insisting on the representation of the March 8 alliance’s Sunni deputies through a cabinet portfolio. Hariri has rejected the request.
However, caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil predicted the formation of the cabinet by Christmas and the New Year.
