Miqati Swears He Didn’t Receive Any Call Pressing Him to Announce Cabinet

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Thursday stressed that he was not pressured into announcing the line-up of his long-awaited cabinet, which saw light on Monday after around five months of arduous negotiations.

“I swear to God I did not receive any phone call concerning cabinet formation on Sunday and only six people knew about the cabinet line-up, so I went to the presidential palace and said I won’t leave without announcing a cabinet line-up and I hope the Lebanese will support the new government,” Miqati said during an interview on LBC television.

“Some people are saying that I rushed the cabinet formation process and some are saying that it would’ve been better to remain without a government, but I say that citizens need a cabinet,” he stressed.

Commenting on the March 14 camp’s criticism of the new government, the premier said he respects “the opposition and all remarks, but I believe that accusations will continue.”

“The government will only yield to the Lebanese people and I reiterate that its relations will be excellent with all countries,” Miqati vowed.

“This government was made in Lebanon and (Syrian) President (Bashar) al-Assad’s congratulation is normal because Syria is Lebanon’s neighbor. It is normal for us to have an excellent relation with Syria, but the government is patriotic par excellence,” the premier noted.

Asked whether he would accept to give up a Sunni portfolio the same as Speaker Nabih Berri gave up a Shiite portfolio to facilitate the finalization of the cabinet line-up, Miqati said: “Every situation requires certain steps and Berri’s step contributed to boosting Islamic unity.”

Addressing the controversial issue of Hizbullah’s weapons, the premier said “resistance (against Israel) is an issue that enjoys Lebanese consensus and the resistance had liberated the land.”

But he noted that he had opposed the use of arms domestically. “That’s why we must ask Hizbullah to keep its arms pointed only at Israel,” Miqati added.

As to the thorny issue of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon which is probing the 2005 murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, Miqati said: “We have been hearing a lot about the tribunal and the crime since six years and when the indictment gets released the cabinet will convene and we will take a decision concerning this issue.”

“I stress that Lebanon is committed to the international resolutions, but at the same time it will preserve civil peace,” he noted.

On a separate note, the premier said he will raise the issue of renewing the mandate of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh “during the first session that will be held after the cabinet gains parliament’s confidence.”