“Separating development from politics is the key to cross towards citizenship and modernity“
Lebanese political activist and businessman Hikmat A. Abou Zeid signed his new book, in its original French edition, issued by “Librairie Antoine”, entitled: “The Institutional Revolution in Lebanon” or “La Révolution Institutionnelle au Liban” (French Title).
The event was held at the Lebanese Embassy in Paris – France, at the invitation of the Lebanese Ambassador, His Excellency Rami Adwan, and in the presence of a number of French Academics and human rights figures, members of the Lebanese community and political activists.
The book is an “initiative to review the stages of Lebanon’s institutional formation gradually, by examining the administrative practices and raising it to reach a rational level that stimulates deepening of thinking, especially by separating development from politics in order to cross towards citizenship and modernity,” Abou Zeid writes in his book.
In a speech that he delivered to the audience, he praised the French experience and the Francophonie, stressing on the political values that unite Lebanon and France, and called for benefiting from the administrative experience in the French state, which has sought since the eighties since President Francois Mitterrand term to push for decentralization that ensured balanced development in France.
In his turn, Ambassador Adwan considered that “the Lebanese people have conquered the world with their culture and their knowledge. Today, more than ever, the Lebanese people must work collectively, not competitively, to save their country. Today’s book is a push for us to reflect in order to produce something positive and good for the country through a constructive and meaningful dialogue.”
The book is prefaced by the former Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Dr. Ziyad Baroud, who, with a specialized committee, drafted the administrative decentralization law in Lebanon, which was referred to debate in Parliament years ago without implementation, and which Abou Zeid adopted in his book.
Baroud said: “I accompanied the writer in his search for answers and the dream of developing this administrative system in a scientific manner and by reading through many historical stages. Hikmat Abou Zaid’s book is an occasion to launch the discussion on the issue of administrative decentralization at this lost time in the life of the country. It is good to find someone who thinks of solutions that opens the discussion towards a better future”.
During the ceremony, a documentary film was shown that explained in a simplified manner the objectives and advantages of decentralization and its positive impact on the daily lives of citizens, and explained the causes of the current collapse in Lebanon as a result of the quota system, favoritism and sectarianism.
Following that, Hikmat Abou Zeid signed his book for the audience, wishing that decentralization would be a last chance to preserve the unity of the Lebanese state, which is facing a crossroads amid the escalation of talk about federalism or partition, and that it would be the beginning of a sustainable solution to the endless problems of the Lebanese administrative system.