Aoun’s Ministers: Objective is to Improve Cabinet Performance and not Force its Collapse
Ministers loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun stressed on Saturday that their participation in the cabinet hinges on a set of conditions that the government should meet.
Following a meeting of the Change and Reform bloc ministers in Rabieh, Energy Minister Jebran Bassil said: “Our participation or boycott of cabinet sessions stands on several issues.”
He told reporters that President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati have the constitutional right to set the cabinet agenda but the people’s rights are more important than the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
The cabinet was in tatters over the weekend after the FPM ministers thwarted a quorum with their boycott of a session at Baabda palace on Friday.
Aoun threatened to withdraw his 10 ministers from the cabinet after Miqati announced that he would resign if the government did not approve the funding of the STL.
“The pace of government’s functions in implementing projects is not satisfactory,” Bassil said.
But he stressed that the FPM ministers’ objective is to fix the government’s performance and not force its collapse.
Among the issues that need further discussions at the cabinet is the draft 2011 budget, he said.
Discussions have been postponed for 2 months, Bassil told reporters, saying the issue should become a priority for the government.
The budget is more important that the 45 billion liras that would be used to fund the international tribunal, he said.
The minister criticized the cabinet for disregarding the implementation of several development and investment projects in water and electricity. “The list is long and all issues are a priority for the people.”
The wage boost is also a top priority and should be discussed during Wednesday’s cabinet session, Bassil said. Ministers are set to deliberate on November 30 on the funding of the STL that is set to try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins.
Bassil stressed that a lot of positions in the state institutions are not filled yet. He prioritized the appointments at the Higher Judicial Council, saying in reference to the STL that they are more important than international justice.
The minister accused some parties without naming them of “intentionally” seeking to keep certain sects away from several posts in state institutions.
After the conditions he set on the cabinet, Bassil announced the FPM’s readiness to discuss the issues with Suleiman and Miqati.
Dialogue with all officials will remain open, he said.
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