Mashnouq: New Cabinet Must Be Comprised of Technocrats, Respects Baabda Declaration

Mustaqbal bloc MP Nouhad al-Mashnouq revealed that his latest talks with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri were aimed at agreeing on the March 14 camp's next line of action in the wake of the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, reported An Nahar daily on Friday.

He told the daily that a new government should be comprised of “technocrats, whose political agenda should be based on the Baabda Declaration.”

The MP recently returned from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia where he met Hariri.

“We reached an agreement to boycott government activities at parliament,” he said.

“There can be no backing down on this boycott until the cabinet resigns,” he added, reiterating the position of the Mustaqbal bloc that was issued on Tuesday.

In addition, Mashnouq said that the Jeddah talks with Hariri stressed the need to explain the March 14 camp's position to representatives of the international and Arab communities in Lebanon.

The camp had been demanding the resignation of the government since Hasan's assassination in a car bomb on October 19, which it blamed Syria for.

The bombing has raised fears about unrest in the country, which is divided between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose country supervised its small neighbor for nearly 30 years.

The Ashrafiyeh bombing in Beirut that killed Hasan along with two others deepened the gap between the March 14 alliance and the March 8 camp.

The opposition insists on the resignation of the government as a main condition for the resumption of the national dialogue and official activity with their foes, while the leading coalition rejects the formation of a new cabinet on allegations that there's no alternative.

Mashnouq predicted that the international and Arab positions on the situation in Lebanon will soon change starting next week, noting the talks U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly is holding talks with various officials to this end.

An Nahar said that a clear American stance on the situation in Lebanon will be issued soon.

Foreign ambassadors to Lebanon have stressed the importance of avoiding a political vacuum in Lebanon in light of the March 14 camp's demands for the cabinet's resignation.

The Baabda Declaration was reached during the first national dialogue session that was held in June after a 19-month absence.

The Declaration, issued on June 11, calls for political and media calm in Lebanon, supporting the army, and keeping Lebanon away from regional and international disputes.