Miqati says capital control needed for recovery, accuses objectors of 'populism'

Prime Minister Najib Miqati who has been repeatedly defending a capital control draft law, reiterated on Thursday that the capital control law and the depositors' rights are two separate things.

"It would be wrong to mix the capital control law and the depositors' rights," Miqati said at the start of a Cabinet session at the Grand Serail.

He added that recovery cannot be reached before the law is approved, accusing the objectors of populism.

The draft law had been sent to the joint parliamentary committees for discussion. The latter refused Wednesday to discuss it before taking a look at the recovery plan, considering it to be unfair towards the depositors.

Protestors and depositors had also rallied on Wednesday morning outside Parliament to prevent MPs from attending the session.

"We are waiting for suggestions and ideas from the ministers and the MPs before issuing a recovery plan," the prime minister went on to say, adding that "the capital control law should have been issued since the very first day of the crisis."

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called the Finance and Justice parliamentary committees for a joint session to discuss the capital control draft law on Tuesday morning, as Cabinet has sent to Parliament clarifications that the MPs had requested concerning the law.