Report: Aoun, Hariri Determined to Solve State Security 'Crisis'
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri are determined to solve the crisis linked to the General Directory of State Security, and therefore director-general of the apparatus, Maj. Gen. George Qaraa was invited to attend the Higher Defense Council meeting at the Presidential Palace, al-Joumhouria daily reported Thursday.
The President will preside a meeting of the Higher Defense Council at 11:00 a.m. in Baabda, to give some guidance to the involved security chiefs, and determine the work of the Council in light of the powers conferred to it, the daily said.
Presidential Palace sources said an invitation was extended to Qaraa to attend the Council meeting, after being exempted from such meetings during the term of Prime Minister Tammam Salam-- when Lebanon was witnessing a vacuum at the Presidential level.
It is worth noting that the President is the sole official authorized to chair the Higher Defense Council being the supreme commander of the armed forces under the authority of the Council of Ministers. The meetings that were held at the Grand Serail under Salam's chairmanship, were security meetings.
The daily added, Aoun and Hariri are determined to solve the crisis of the State Security, paving the way for coherent efforts between all security apparatuses to be the “safety valve” for Lebanon at a critical stage the country is passing through.
In that regard, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq told the daily: “Security reports about a number of undisclosed arrests and interrogations will be presented during the Higher Defense Council meeting.”
State Security agency has been facing a leadership dispute between Qaraa and his deputy Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Tufaili.
In June 2016, Qaraa had sent the premiership a decree on sending al-Tufaili to retirement due to the fact that the latter “has reached the retirement age stipulated by the law.”
The dispute between Qaraa and Tufaili has effectively paralyzed the State Security agency and deprived it of funding. Qaraa is backed by the Christian ministers while Tufaili is reportedly backed by Khalil, Nouhad al-Mashnouq and the ministers of the Progressive Socialist Party.
Source: Naharnet
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