Economy off a cliff age. Well you might even say as i just watched salmon szell interviewing katoey there might have times she said United Kingdom in calling britain a country britain is a state to four countries not a country thank you weve got an email from teen spirit who says how alex love the new sure love it keep up the good work by the we had about changing the name to x. Three whole order based more in the scotland thank you very much were going to stick with this name for a night but keep the suggestions coming and finally look at this amazing picture this is a message from william necco he says twenty kilos of lead sorry cant afford gold you would also go for putting Scotland First they see any advertising is good advertising but here she was quality thank you p. S. Youll need to collect it well thanks very much william i think well send alex up the road to collect it from you. For most of the last century the city was the financial as well as the commercial side of the entire middle east because of lebanon was the switzerland of the east then be a route was the part us of the south. From the route to the president ial palace but im here to interview president mr load a man whose political career and compass is marked of lebanons history as an independent nation. And on the very day of our interview president was able to reassemble the government to Prime Minister saeed how do you know which had been plunged into a month long crisis following the shock resignation followed a visit to saudi arabia. Preston i wouldnt refuse point blank to accept the resignation of the Prime Minister and through the diplomatic efforts of both the white house nearly see the palace i really come to lebanon and on this day officially rescinded the. As it nation the Coalition Government then we assess lebanon statoil a t in all conflicts between arab states however i ask press and i would if lebanon could really stay secure from the regional political ambitions of its neighbors one of the stumbling blocks to peace in lebanon. Is to avoid lebanese communities getting drawn into the rivalry of regional powers such as saudi arabia and iran are you confident the lebanese people can stay apart from these regional rivalries. Then he could have been and never mind certainly they can keep away from this but whats happening in syria is exceptional because syria is a neighboring country and there was an incursion by the terrorists around our people orders. We were obliged to act militarily the Lebanese Army and even hezbollah were involved with a list block continued to oust them away from the borders i mean you and they took a region called color mono which is on the lebanese border then hezbollah help syria overcome the threats and dangers are there. And mr president the sectarian difficulties across the middle east are not confined to sunni and shia divisions in the Muslim Community in many countries Christian Communities have been persecuted in serbia and also in iraq how confident are you of the position of lebanese christians. But their kid living there and or. Most certainly lebanon has a different experience than most countries gain for us there is a proportional balance between the christian and muslim citizens many whereas in other countries christians are a minority compared to the Muslim Population i mean is there like. How many there for christian populations have faced terrorist attacks and they were harmed more than their fellow muslim citizens. In. Your memoir me leadin. Was president you have political career and compass is a great deal of the period since lebanese independence from france in recent days weve seen a renewed friend raul in terms of helping to the solve the crisis concerning the resignation of Prime Minister who really do you welcome this new french involvement and how do you think this will play out. Here. France is a country on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. But. The countries that are within the basin of the Mediterranean Sea have been neighbors since ancient times. The mediterranean was the cradle of all civilizations which spread into the west and america. And this is why weve been cooperating with each other for a long time and we also benefit each other economically and so we are affected by each other culturally. How concerned are you as president of lebanon about the possibility of further is really incursions into your country. Good bad. I think thats after the july two thousand and six war israel will no longer attack lebanon because it will not be able to penetrate the lebanese fronts and then here. In terms of recent developments weve seen a much more assertive rule from the new leadership and saudi arabia is this a matter which concerns you no no. No im not concerned by the shoe not at all because we already have the National Unity and this National Unity prevents any danger from happening to our Society Someone the. Hezbollah the considerable arsenal of weaponry which they say is to defend lebanon but many communities in lebanon itself can sound before the strength of hezbollah how do you provide reassurance to these communities. As a c. S. V. A them in. Any. Form and. This is a political concern rather than a security issue and because Everybody Knows that hizbollah large do not use their weapons in the domestic arena except only for one time when the lebanese government took measures against it. And a slight incidence occurred which ended in two days but ever since the establishment of hezbollah in one thousand nine hundred five until today there has only been one small incident but nothing else has. Many in here very clear on health and wholeness one hundred twelve. In lebanon the snow there are one and a half million refugees from syria as well as perhaps five hundred thousand. This study in refugees of much longer duration what are the prospects for these refugees returning to their home countries. That are here and that we are seeking to have these refugees returned today countries. But the International Community does not cooperate with us until now except for russia turkey and iran iran we hope to be able to change the opinions of the europeans and americans in this respect. Certainly this issue is not easy but it is indeed a tremendous burden on our shoulders and we consider this to be a part of the in justice thats was imposed on us by the western world. Need for. Alarm a lot of it. In terms of lebanon as a relatively small country. That has a huge number of refugees to have in your communities what assistance. Do you receive from the International Community to help sustain that position and what more assistance would lebanon like to see. Men. Who. Only you. Lebanon has not received any International Assistance in there except minor assistance for schools going to cause the number of students exceeds our capacity to take in syrian students here as for the other assistance it is given to the refugees themselves. Last week in italy you said definitively the lead in your opinion as president of lebanon the immediate crisis was over how confident are you of that position. Good. Confidence because there is no disagreements among the lebanese about settling this crisis and i dont think that those who created this crisis will repeat it again. And who do you believe was responsible for instigating the crisis which are hard to be addressed by you and other pows. Some say that it was the lebanese that instigated saudi arabia how debates actually the question is who is it thats an executed this effort and how confident are you as president that the political balance which you have achieved over the last year can continue to secure peace and prosperity in your country. Say or has this understanding will improve through time and we are working on it. Mr president thank you for these answers and i want to move on to some more reflective questions about your career in politics fascinating stuff from president michel aoun in our exclusive interview much more coming up after the break. All see we have a great team we need to strengthen before the freefall world cold and your bets have been a legend to keep it so its at the back. In one thousand nine hundred two that must qualify for the european championships at the very last moment no one believed in us but we won and im hoping to bring some of that waving spirit to the r. C. T. Recently ive had a lot of practice so i can guarantee you that Peter Schmeichel will be on the best fall since my last will call that starts or three. Thousand zero zero zero zero zero i call rush. Strikes. Left left left more or less ok stuff thats really good. Its a. Wonder when they are cardiff city day. In the mood to confess that. This i wrote these are the new rich and full and to me and all the men to make a friend i still play dont come up with just a moment up on the yes i will look at them they want us and the feeling to see all. Of us. Welcome back to beirut it was the Mediterranean Sea which has been the secret of lebanons trading prosperity through the ages lets get back to our exclusive interview with president michel i would mr president some twenty seven years ago you were forced out of this palace and into exile. A year ago you were elected by a massive majority of the Lebanese Parliament as president how satisfying was it for you personally to return to this place with such a democratic mandate. In the contest. Thats how i felt that the right has returned to its owner is. My access into power was not my objective the objective for me was to rebuild lebanon and to make it an exemplary states and this is the direction im working towards and this gives me perfect satisfaction i mean an f. C. You know your political career in compass is much of the history of lebanon as an independent country can you tell us how that history has evolved since independence and what your hopes are for the future. And my current. Where i got. It when i was a teenager in fact even younger than that was a child eight years of age i was in Primary School in one nine hundred forty three. I mean you would have thought of being in and in school we put slogans on our chests and we protested in the streets against the french the no one we were calling for independence the that was the beginning and as the plan. Really. Had to believe in World War Two i was even younger i mean i used to hear the names of miscellany to call here starlin churchill. I memorized all of these names from the conversations between my family and my neighbors and they always used to talk about. He were. Really really very pushy iran would be able and this was the first period which had a great impact on me see the second great impact on me happened in one nine hundred forty eight men on the Palestinian Refugees arrived eleven on their condition was very bad. I was thirteen years back then and when they arrived i used to live in the heart of the had i started to help those who were mounting the tennis for them. Now we used to bring blankets and tents and give them food. But when. Afterwards great moments had a massive impact on me. In the Second World War some soldiers who entered beirut assaulted some woman you know and secondly i also saw the misery on the faces of the palestinians and the misery of being a refugee but. For a new board here so this stayed in my memory all my life. Until i joined the military school in one nine hundred fifty five. That year i entered the military school and i graduated in one nine hundred fifty eight as a Lieutenant Colonel and part of the training included a year in the Artillery College and shallow sea man in paris france. When had the. Sydney. Me mother of the matter a year then i returned and under all the missions thats a lieutenants or a captain may undertake until one nine hundred sixty seven. It was in that year when i was at the borders when israel invaded the arab countries syria jordan and egypt. Israel did not cross the borders of lebanon however as a repercussion of this war the palestinians crossed into our borders and the confrontation increased between the lebanese and the palestinians until the two year war of seventy five and seventy six broke out then. Of course since nine hundred sixty seven till one nine hundred seventy six when all the military action was undertaken by us. Until all the big events separated the Lebanese Army and divided the lebanese nation into two groups. In the arab region was backing the palestinians and the problem remained in suspense for fifteen years until nine hundred eighty nine. Year old picturing that time israel invaded lebanon twice in one thousand nine hundred Seventy Eight and in one thousand nine hundred. In one thousand nine hundred eighty eight the invasion was limited to the borders around the belt area. But in one thousand nine hundred two israel invaded lebanon and reached the capital of beirut then i was the commander of the defense regiment which formed it belts around beirut. And israel were not able to penetrate the spell. But when israel arrived in beirut it took the road of zari by then i was separating west beirut from east beirut. After the withdrawal of israel i was in charge of the security of beirut and we deployed the army in all of the capital and all of the Southern Suburbs that has been in many ways a troubled history. But lebanon still has the highest wealth in the world if you exclude oil. How much more prosperous could lebanon be if youre successful in securing that peace between the communities and staying free of the activities of regional powers. And of men that. As a myth and as in this Current Situation lebanon is living under three crises of the Global Crisis which impacted us because we are part of the World Economy the second crisis is the shutting down of the land borders of eleven on in from one side there is syria from the other side is this well we only have access to the outside world through this sci fi and this is difficult for us. And it has greatly affected our economy. In the suburb in this manner. As in the theater of this of the the third crisis is the massive the syrian displacements which is costing us and continues to cost us our resources of it increased significantly of in twenty ten we had a growth rate of eight percent now we are around one percent. We hope to climb over the one percent next year mainly between me and i would mean. Me the balance of communities in lebanon is sustained by a confessional system a government where various seats in the parliament and various offices of state i was for particular a religious communities how stable can such a system be and are you satisfied that provides the balance for lebanon to go forward as a peaceful society. Sure theme piers and this confessional system is a political system in lebanon has three parties bound by a coalition and this coalition is ruling lebanon political coalitions occur in all countries of the world. The american secretary of state Rex Tillerson said recently that we must be aware of lebanon being used for proxy wars how much of a danger is that and are you satisfied that your actions and those of other powers have removed imminent danger. Thank you in. Your car and rule where is and he has you. Most certainly its not enough for those outside of lebanon to say that lebanese sovereignty instability must be preserved. In order for the lebanese people must be the first to preserve their own National Unity and stability. We may want he said outside helps lebanon after all the hardships they have been through and are willing to go forward in this direction but. I would like to enjoy the tension to the fact that the events in syria started in twenty eleven and ever since then despite all the political divisions between the lebanese there have been no internal clashes and when we made disagreements there were no obstacles because there were no clashes in no bloodshed between us you know making a few how it is. There. And what would your message be as president of lebanon to the major regional powers firstly to saudi arabia and then to iran. Men. Who are busy but. I think that peace provides prosperity and security for all and war is a loss for everyone because all the resources of any country are wasted during any war and instead these resources could be used to contribute to the countrys prosperity and developments. As they heard the crowd. Finally mr president lets country of lebanon as one of the cradles of civilization and as a magnificent history as a trading and commercial center how confident are you as president that you can secure the peace in the really an ally think we are capable of restoring lebanon to its previous status as the switzerland of the east or three story i believe it will go back to that status or a member now say oh but your weather and climate will still be better than switzerland. Their fear. Would defer. That our weather and climate is warmer and warmer helps relieve people i see that lebanon is a hearts for the west and a mine for the east because our culture has a jew ality. We have a western dimension as well as an eastern dimension in our culture and they complete each other europe has a joy at heart all it takes from our hearts youre a few small cortis than more reasonable more logical and we take from them. This. Month daryn now there. Was the president we wish you success peace and prosperity for the future thank you so much for appearing on the alec salmon show can i present you with the quick. Thank you much. Thank you so. Well lebanon may have a warmer climate the president we salute him as a very cool customer given experiences of his career it takes a great deal to ruffle his fathers here set of cells high ambitions but he just might be successful restoring this beautiful country to its previous position as the switzerland of the east but from the lebanon back to tasmania in the studio. What a fascinating interview with lebanons president michel on the present exudes confidence that he can keep Lebanese Society secure from each no conflicts and on the straight and narrow road to peace and prosperity however this last weekends unrest on the streets of beirut following the trunk decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel shows just how fragile Lebanese Community relations can be one wonders whether u. S. State department which had worked behind the scenes to secure the stability of the heavy government advised the president on the possible consequences to lebanon of this latest White House Initiative which has also been met with near total universal International Condemnation however this is still being a good week for those who believe in a prosperous future for lebanon the government is back in office and the peace secure for the time being as president on pretty himself the political crisis is over let us all hope that it stays that we next week will be on edge and after a special christmas episode of alex our insured so from alex and all of the team here will feel even. Trump benefit. Very much from the existing plurality system because he was so different from the other candidates if you took any one of those mainstream candidates and you put him in a head to head contest with trump. That other candidate might well of want. It as one of the basic instruments to drive an economy but it can also lead to tragedy i did i took a line to how just i came to god and meant that the text i came to and it was fire not. Many lives have been broken really fixes to the banks got you into trouble and or really big bankers come big prize through their income the government the banks but i just didnt think of the the ordinary men and the last morning through the back under dont buy credits as people see no future that fades from happening you know you become ill you do job your relationship breaks down here become a casualty is dead on life long trip or is there a way out of those actually come to a bit of you know wooden right to disappear from some more fluid or. Breaking news this hour in a move which could create a so named internet for the elite u. S. Lawmakers have voted to scrap Net Neutrality while congress and washington have been protesting against the change for days. President Vladimir Putin concludes his annual q. And a session with journalists more than seventy questions in almost four hours weve got the main points from thats also this hour. Palestinian protesters clashed with his really police in a nonstop wave of anger over jerusalem the muslim nations reject the u. S. Role in the mideast peace process