Environment Minister Denies Suleiman Seeking to Extend his Mandate
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Caretaker Environment Minister Nazem el-Khoury denied on Monday that President Michel Suleiman discussed his term extension with caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil.
Khoury, who is close to Suleiman, told An Nahar newspaper that Tawhid Movement leader Wiam Wahhab's statements that the president's speech on the occasion of the Army Day came after Khalil informed him that the March 8 alliance rejects extending his mandate.
The official urged Khalil, who is Speaker Nabih Berri's adviser, to clarify the issue and deny Wahhab's statements.
Suleiman's six-year term expires in May 2014.
“If he (Suleiman) was seeking to extend his term he wouldn't have said his speech, which prioritized the national interest over his personal interest,” Khoury told the newspaper.
He stressed that Suleiman has continuously announced that he has no intention of extending his mandate.
In a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the army’s founding on Thursday, President Michel Suleiman criticized Hizbullah without naming it, saying it was time for the Lebanese state and the army to be the sole decision-makers on the use of the nation's capabilities
05 August 2013, 12:45
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They all denied seeking that. Let me repeat: THEY ALL DENIED SEEKING THAT. Don't take my word or that of the "one of the very few ethical and clean (he's not Sanni, anyway) minister... in this Hizbullah gov. History is witness, of course.
05 August 2013, 18:43
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Well phoenix excuse me to contradict you nothing in lebanon is exclusive neither to the presidency nor the army. The problem in lebanon is that the wrong answers are being given to the wrong questions. Sometimes i try to ask myself questions like these: why should i be against syria why should i be pro syria, why should i support the president why should i not and often i come to the same answers, which are no less than questions. Should i support the man that would create jobs even if he was pro Bashar or shall i support someone else who though with different political views is a failure? or the other way round? should we support the industry? what if the only one who could make the industry bounce up was a anti palestinian cause? would we chose the cause or the future of our children? the future is a matter of choice, a bitter choice yet a choice
05 August 2013, 19:48
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I think Qahwaji is less able than Suleiman in regards to what the country needs as a president, so really, if it comes down to a choice between extending the current president's term or reappointing Qahwaji to the post of presidency, I'd much rather extend Suleiman's term. Qahwaji cannot replace the president as his extension is illegal, and so it's constitutionally less repulsive to extend the current president's term.
