March 14 MPs Slam Cabinet on Last Day of Parliamentary Session

March 14 opposition lawmakers continued their criticism of the cabinet on the third and last day of a parliamentary session aimed at assessing the performance of Premier Najib Miqati’s government.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan said in his statement to the assembly that almost a year after its formation and after holding 50 sessions, “this cabinet was mainly ruled by disputes between its members.”

On a decision by Lebanon to steer itself clear of the Syrian crisis, the lawmaker said a policy of distancing the country from the neighboring country’s violence means the border should be controlled from both sides and the boundary should not be violated.

He revealed that 10 people were killed inside Lebanese territories by Syrian gunfire since the Assad regime launched a crackdown on protestors in March last year. The last person to die was al-Jadeed TV cameraman Ali Shaaban.

The assassination attempt on LF chief Samir Geagea should be referred to the Judicial Council, he said.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Kazem al-Kheir slammed the government for “not achieving anything but more social, security, and political chaos.”

Another member of the same bloc, Ziad al-Qaderi said “the government is plotting against Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

“It came to take vengeance from Lebanon and create crises, he said.

“In the dictionary of the government there is no state but their state and no institution but their institution,” he said in reference to Hizbullah.

Like the other members of his bloc, al-Mustaqbal MP Atef Majdalani described the government as "decomposing" and "ineffective."

Independent MP Tammam Salam also criticized the cabinet, saying “it stopped being productive nine months ago and we can say that it has shifted to a caretaker role, which it is executing poorly.”

He also slammed Culture Minister Gaby Layyoun for allowing an investor to build a structure at the location of the Roman hippodrome in downtown Beirut.

“Is it a ministry of culture and national treasure or a ministry of trade and real estate?” he wondered.