Panel Refers Policy Statement to Cabinet after Failing to Reach Agreement
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The panel drafting a government policy statement failed on Tuesday to agree on a draft that meets the demands of the rival March 8 and 14 camps.
It therefore decided to refer the issue to the cabinet, which will convene on Thursday to take the appropriate stance on the matter, said the premiership.
Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi told reporters after the panel's tenth meeting: “Hizbullah is insisting that the resistance be granted freedom of mobility and action” away from the authority of the state.
The March 14 camp has been insisting that the policy statement highlight the importance the state's authority.
“Given this discrepancy in positions between the March 8 and 14 camps, the panel decided to refer what it has achieved so far in the policy statement to cabinet,” added Qazzi.
The statement can then be tackled by the cabinet and President Michel Suleiman, he explained.
He remarked however that the panel would convene again immediately if positive developments that may yield an agreement over the statement emerge.
“Each camp made its own proposals over the statement, but the discussions made it clear that an agreement over one draft was not possible at the moment,” said the minister.
“The panel has not shied away from its duties by referring the statement to the cabinet,” he stressed.
“We will simply inform cabinet that we have not reached an agreement on a final draft,” he stated.
Qazzi added: “It is clear that one camp is rejecting any reference to the state in the policy statement. This contradicts with the position of the March 14 alliance.”
“Neither the March 8 or 14 camps want their respective drafts to be adopted, but the least that should be done is refer to the state in the policy statement,” he added.
The March 14 coalition continued to hold onto its condition for the adoption of a clause under which the resistance is put under the authority of the state.
Several alliance officials have stressed “the right of Lebanon as a state and not the right of the Lebanese to resist Israel.”
Later on Tuesday, LBCI television said Prime Minister Tammam Salam "hinted that he might take a decisive stance before Monday."
Quoting unnamed sources, the TV network said the premier intends to "submit his resignation."
According to information obtained by OTV, Salam "will immediately resign in case of failure to agree on a policy statement on Monday."
OTV said that a formula devised by Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialiat party leader MP Walid Jumblat was not discussed during the panel's session.
The formula includes "'the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese to resistance', the spirit of the previous sessions' discussions and (Foreign Minister Jebran) Bassil's formula," according to OTV.
A March 8 ministerial source told OTV that a formula suggested by Telecom Minister Butros Harb was "aimed at besieging the resistance, especially that the state is not capable through its means to defend Lebanon."
"At the end of the panel statement meeting, a March 8 minister asked whether the statement would be put to a vote (in cabinet) and Salam said no," OTV added.
MTV said the March 14 members of the ministerial panel were "in contact with their leaderships" during the session, adding that "they voiced the unified stance of these leaders, who reject the resistance's actions outside state authority."
MTV said Harb suggested two formulas during the meeting.
The first states that "the government holds onto the right of its army and all people to resist occupation and confront attacks" and the second mentions "the right of the state, supported by the Lebanese, to resist occupation."
AMAL Movement's representative Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil described the first formula as "muddled" while the second formula was rejected by the March 8 forces, MTV added.
11 March 2014, 18:16
89
Well they are arguing about how to make it sound nice in a sentence... About arabic langage... They are divided on the principle?.. How are they expecting this to work?...
Ya haram 3a li metou...
11 March 2014, 19:45
86
extayyar ...good one....bass ma ye7lam...he cannot be trusted...this guy will sell his own mother in a heart beat
bass how things turn around so quickly when you want something so badly ....he turned to syria his sworn enemy...after waging a war and destroying half of the country ...ya 7aram 3alli meito well said by IMAGINE 1979....at the roar ...coming back from retirement did not do you good ....no one in their right mind is happy with the refugee situation...but let's see what is ur take or what is ur plan or what do u think this president should do? it is easy to criticize but give a suggestion instead....short of creating a human crisis what do you think we can do? truly think about it in a realistic way and give a suggestion....gas and oil....hmmm let's see if you think that lebanon will do wonders with this file...ya isteiz as long as all these politicians are in place INSA EL BANSA...i mean all....they are without accountability...
11 March 2014, 19:51
64
keep getting richer ...MIN AYNA LAKA HAZA YA MAZA....no one is or can probe their accounts that gets bigger they act as if it was their's own compagny ...all of them ..so ma tiji tkilli hariri mariri aoun bouun,berri herri.....lak emile lahoud been a gvt employee for 40 years plus......is a multi multi millionaire driving a rolls royce drophead worth in lebanon 645000 dollars .....and i remember one incident very well...in 1997 in the 3adliyeih garage there was a bunch of cars impunded because they were stolen and tried to get in the country illegally....well one of them was a ferrari 456 america dak blue beige interior guess who was driving it soon after :) lol junior...roaming freely ...balad maskhara
11 March 2014, 20:02
915
NO resistance whatsoever! If the army cannot defend the nation then ask for UN help. We cannot submit anymore to the nightmares of the last 10 years. We do not have a resistance today, instead we have a sectarian militia.
11 March 2014, 20:37
39
Wow. Aoun agreed on all these things? Lets review:
1. Harirri as pm. Sure I would go with that and not far fetched.
2. Enforce resolutions. He can try. But how is he guaranteeing to something he know he can't do alone?
3. Sign peace with Israel. Laughable and the best pointer to you knowing zilch about what you are talking about. A peace treaty with Israel means civil war. Same as forcing the implementation of security council resolutions. You tend to forget that HA is the most well armed and trained militia. You expect them to just nod their head and fall in line?
4. Same as above.
5. Aoun is going to endure Geagea is the next president. Wow.
Everything you said would lead to a civil war and as much as I don't like the man at the moment, I doubt Aoun would sign off to be president of a war torn nation. Don't mean to offend you but you need lessons in reality. Let alone politics.
12 March 2014, 01:00
01
lets be realistic here... there are a handful of men that run this country (berri, aoun, joumblat, hariri, geagea, and a few lesser ones). lets stop with this democracy charade and just make em kings or whatever. cause thats what they are really.
12 March 2014, 04:30
02
extayyar these conditions you point out were on the table 8 years ago when aoun returned from france. i am afraid he has lost the confidence of the christian parties and that of the greater lebanese population.in addition has burnt his bridges that we now see him so eargerly jetsetting to mend.that said i would still agree on old man aoun if he has majority support and can provide lebanon with some sense of normality (including the dis-arming of our favorite thugs hA)
12 March 2014, 12:31
00
My dear honorable PM, ca y est, fini, close that PM's office, send these thieves home, suspend the government, call for a state of emergency, go home and rest assured that you've earned our profound respect, for your patience and tolerance. Let Suleiman's term be extended by another 3 years, let the country be ruled by decree, please, let these SOBs be jailed and let's turn the page, both M8, led by Hezbollah and rubber stamped by old man Aoun, and M14 led Mustaqbal are useless, greedy, lining their pockets and bank accounts, money they are stealing from state coffers and the securities of the people. A man yesterday was refused emergency hospitalization because he had no insurance, now he is ailing in his home in Burj Hammoud. neither social security in 2014 can secure his life or pension and why? Because these thieves have proven that even a miserable paper they can't agree upon. Tfeh wou alf tfeh!!
12 March 2014, 12:37
00
There's a saying that goes, "even heaven is not worth it if it is not inhabited by people". These mafiosis, liars, thieves, fabricators, inventors of the worst designs of all sides confounded, M8 and M14 and the M in between, you know when they are passing in the streets with their lamentable security escorts, for time immemorial they've pushed us the people to the sidelines, even in our streets, it's all about, move over, I am passing, you are nothing, I am everything, it's all about this, "Zi7 wlah!!". Imagine if Lebanon was empty, who will these sobs rule over? That's my question. No decent people will accept to keep such dirt and filth in power, except if we as a people accept it that we are worth no more. Case closed.
