BEIRUT- October 28, 2009

Former Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares is to be honored Wednesday alongside former American presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. Fares will be honored by the global NGO International Crisis Group at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City during the group’s annual award dinner. Fares arrived in New York on Tuesday and said during a talk with media outlets that he considered the award “to surpass the personal level and be an honor to Lebanon as a whole. He said that Lebanon could not brag about its superficy nor about the density of its population but it could be proud of the cultural and humanitarian achievements it has given the world.

However, he regretted that in such a remarkable country, conflicts still arose but still said that he was proud that some Lebanese figures were working against this unfortunate reality and were giving Lebanon a bright new image.

Fares then went on to praise the work of the International Crisis Group, saying that the group, which was founded in 1995, aimed at casting the light on world crises and giving recommendations and suggestions to world leaders as to avoid wars and resolve conflicts peacefully.

“Peace and stability in the world cannot be achieved if the rights of countries and people to freedom, sovereignty and independence were not insured, if human rights and democracy were not globalized and if poverty, drug use, terrorism, violence and incurable diseases did not decrease, “he said.

Fares then voiced a call to all Lebanese asking them that they follow the words of their national anthem and work together “all for one nation.” – The Daily Star