Ambassador Fletcher will hand British Prime Minister Cameron’s official letter to Lebanon’s President Michel Sleiman, tomorrow Friday, on the occasion of Lebanon’s 70th anniversary as well as his own open letter to mark the occasion.
In his letter, Tom Fletcher explains his admiration for Lebanon and shares his frustrations concerning the country’s politics following which he gives his “unsolicited advice”.
About his frustrations, the Ambassador writes:
“Your politics are dynamic on the surface. Yet broken and paralysed beneath it. You talk of unity. Yet often say things like ‘Lebanon would be wonderful if it wasn't for the Lebanese’, ‘it will always be like this – this is Lebanon’, or ‘they (insert different group) are just too different’.
You have an impressive ability to absorb hardships such as power cuts. Yet you rarely confront the causes of them. You invest more than any country in the education of your youth. Yet they feel excluded from changing the country for the better. You have been a beacon for women’s rights.
Yet only elect a tiny handful to parliament. You were the first country in the region to stand up against dictatorship and tyranny in the 21st century Middle East. Yet your voice in calling for your own rights and those of others seems to have fallen silent, and in too many cases been silenced.”