Aoun's Bloc Says PM Put 'Veto' on Top 4 Presidential Hopefuls, Govt. Has 'No Role' in Waste Crisis
The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc lashed out Tuesday at Prime Minister Tammam Salam, accusing him of putting a “veto” on the presidential nominations of the top four Christian leaders – Michel Aoun, Samir Geagea, Amin Gemayel and Suleiman Franjieh.
“Who gave PM Tammam Salam the right to veto the presidential nominations of the strongest four Christians?” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting, which was recited by former Labor Minister Salim Jreissati.
“Some parties have accused us of extremism. We are extremists when it comes to the National Pact, the Constitution and the law,” the bloc added.
It said there are "national contracts" between the country's components -- referring to Lebanon's religious communities – and noted that “no one has the right to breach them or modify them unilaterally.”
“We're the ones whose rights are encroached upon in the parliament's structure and the executive authority,” the bloc underlined.
Turning to Thursday's much-anticipated cabinet session, Change and Reform emphasized that the meeting is “dedicated to the debate over the mechanism” through which the government is supposed to take its decisions amid the current presidential vacuum.
“We must return to the constitutional approach that is based on consensus in the cabinet in the event of a presidential void,” the bloc underscored.
As for the growing waste management crisis, Change and Reform accused certain parties of seeking to “use it for political pressure to maintain their monopolization of power.”
“The government has no role in this file and the cabinet has fully played its role in this regard. The environment minister must take the necessary measures to resolve the issue without being selective regarding the issue of the landfills' locations,” it added.
As for the issue of the appointments of senior security and military officials, which is a key point of contention, the bloc declared that it “will not tolerate further marginalization in the issue of appointments.”
Defense Minister Samir “Moqbel said he has 'launched consultations with the Druze leaders over the army chief of staff post',” Change and Reform added.
“Where are the consultations with the community to which he belongs? This is exactly what we are complaining of. Where is the role of our (Christian) component -- which was one of the founders of the Lebanese equation -- regarding the top posts in the state?” it lamented.
The FPM, which has been staging street protests in recent weeks, is accusing Salam of infringing on the Christian president's powers in the absence of a head of state.
During a stormy cabinet session on July 9, a deal was reached to make the debate over the decision-taking mechanism the first item on Thursday's agenda.
Y.R.
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