"Brothers and Sisters, Members of the honourable Assembly, "Terrorism attempted to deny us the ability to reap the rewards of a war in which we were victorious, and those of the honourable peace which restored our lands. We sought subsequently to lift the state of emergency and move on the path of development. But it targeted the state, seeking to undermine its foundations over the last three decades with political assassinations and attempts to stoke sectarian strife. [...] "Our confrontation with terrorism was not limited to the declaration of the state of emergency or security response. Rather, we took steps to address its underlying causes. We called upon the international community to cooperate with us to combat and confront terrorism. But our call was not met with the appropriate consideration until major states with well-established democracies were attacked by terrorism, leading them to take measures and adopt legislations in comparison to which our emergency measures are mild. "In recent years, we have introduced unprecedented reforms in support of our democracy and freedom of expression, notwithstanding the threats which surround us. We were keen to provide basic guarantees for the accused, so we amended the criminal procedures code to increase safeguards in regard to pre-trial detention. We restricted the number of situations where this form of detention can be used, and we introduced a maximum time limit which may not be exceeded. Moreover, the President annulled a number of military orders which were applied under the state of emergency. Today none remain except those related to the safety and security of the armed forces. "The President of the Republic committed himself in his electoral platform to lift the state of emergency and formulate a new counterterrorism law which would balance personal freedom with the interests and security of society. The government reiterated this commitment a few weeks ago before the UN Human rights council, and today the Government restates this commitment to the representatives of the nation to lift the state of emergency as soon as a balanced law is adopted which does not permit the use of extraordinary investigation measures unless necessary to counter terrorism, and then only under complete supervision by the judiciary. The Government is committed to presenting this law for public discussion, and to deliberate on it with the National Council for Human Rights and the civil society organizations. "While it would be unjust to credit the stability we enjoy, and which has permitted us to achieve so much, to the emergency law alone, it would also be unjust to ignore the fact that the application of the emergency law has spared the nation the threats of terrorism and stopped many terrorist crimes before they could be committed. "When the Government requested an extension of the state of emergency previously, it committed itself to only apply these powers to the dangers of terrorism and narcotics, and some unfairly doubted the sincerity of our commitment. Therefore, the President sought to dispel all doubt with clarity by including in his request for extension of the state of emergency restrictions to the application on the use of emergency powers to only those cases related to the threats of terrorism and its financing and narcotics trafficking. Moreover, the measures that may be taken to preserve public security and order will be limited to those listed in Paragraphs 1 and 5 of Article 3 of the emergency law. This step shows the world that we are a state that respects its commitments in the area of human rights, and respects the rights and freedoms of its citizens, which are not infringed upon by the emergency law, but rather the law is used only to confront those threats that endanger our nation and the world as a whole. "The Government as it requests an extension of the state of emergency for a duration of two years, commits itself before the representatives of the nation to not utilize the extraordinary measures made available under the emergency law except to confront the threat of terrorism and narcotics, and only to the extent necessary to confront these dangers. The emergency law will not be used to undermine freedoms or infringe upon rights if these two threats are not involved. The Government also commits itself to enforce safeguards regarding the use of these measures as required by the Constitution, the law and international agreements, and that all such measures be taken under judicial supervision. "As it requests that the people's representatives extend the state of emergency, the Government is confident that they, with their varied partisan and political backgrounds, appreciate its objectives and appreciate its rationale and motivation, and we are hopeful that this state will be lifted as soon as possible. The Government on its part will not breach their trust, and will seek to fulfil their demand as soon as possible."
