Miqati Rejects Aoun’s Threats, Says Saudi Officials Didn’t Criticize his Performance
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Premier Najib Miqati rejected threats made by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun to withdraw his ministers from the cabinet if it didn’t approve the electricity plan, saying this could create a precedence that would turn the government useless.
In remarks to As Safir daily published Monday, Miqati said: “This equation is totally rejected. Accepting it would create a dangerous precedence on the level of institutional work.”
“Any minister could later threaten that he would quit if the cabinet doesn’t approve his project,” he said.
Aoun has proposed a draft law that allocates $1.2 billion to his son-in-law Energy Minister Jebran Bassil to build power plants that would generate 700 megawatts of electricity.
The cabinet on several occasions failed to approve it after ministers loyal to Aoun rejected demands by other ministers to form a committee that would oversee the spending of the funds.
Miqati told As Safir that a consensual solution should be found before a cabinet session scheduled to be held on Sept. 7. The government should “put some make-up on the face of the bill,” he said in reference to ongoing negotiations to settle the issue.
The differences between cabinet ministers prove that the government is not one-sided, the premier said. “We all want electricity and it’s not right to say that some are with it and some are against it.”
Asked about his visit to Saudi Arabia, Miqati said that he heard “very acceptable” remarks from Saudi officials whom he met there as he performed the Omra.
Although he didn’t meet King Abdullah and the officials expressed some reservations on the way he was appointed a PM, Miqati said that the personalities whom he held talks with did not make any negative remarks on his performance.
About the issue of false witnesses in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination case, the prime minister said: “We are now following up the course of the international tribunal. If it turns out that it relied on the testimony of false witnesses, then we would act.”
“But apparently it (the tribunal) has until now relied on other things,” he said in reference to the indictment published by the court which is based mainly on the circumstantial evidence of telecommunications data.
29 August 2011, 09:34
04
Ya Prime Minister, you are really compelled to say things that do not make a lot sense: ....if it turns out that they relied on the testimony of false witnessesthen we would act....! Ya Prime Minister, if they had relied on the testimony of some people ( you call false witnesses) to indict the false saints then the 4 generals would still be behind bars and those witnesses wouldn't be false in the first place! You put a condition in your premisse when you know it is not verified, as though this occurence is still open or probable, whereas the inquest has taken a totally different course. However the implications are as follows:
1- you can only assert in finale on the status of those witnesses and the generals when a verdict has been issued. Until then in theory, although unlikely, you cannot rule out that these 4 G are indicted again.
2- a crime court case does not follow a linear path, and having arrested some individuals that are later relesed is a common occurence insuch criminal
29 August 2011, 09:44
04
In such criminal cases
3- even of those 4 G were ultimately cleared their case will remain totally collateral to the main issue which is the serial killing, and will entitle them at most a few hundred dollars of damages. Such has been the case in other similar cases. They cannot sue neither the judge, no sue themselves, such as one of the creative clownesque generals has shown us...except of course in disneylike courts... But this serial killing case is far from a fairy tale!
4- the STL has already brushed aside the testimony of those socalled witnesses, whether you call them false or not.So once again your premisse Mr PM does not apply...are you then signalling that you will not open such file under your premiership?
Instead of opening such nonsensical files, you should rather investigate the source of the wealth amassed by thos State employee called Jamil Sayyed...and possibly the others too..
29 August 2011, 15:10
03
Wow Najib great achievement,surely that's got to be your greatest political move to date.Najib rejected threats made by Aoun to win favour from the Sunni street more like it .Najib you and your political allies are bunch of hypocrites,please left your game up or move aside.
29 August 2011, 16:22
03
I don’t trust you ya Miqati !!! You and Aoun are the 2 faces of the same dirty Iranian/Syrian coin.
