Divisions in Lebanon over Othman, Salameh Questioning
Al-Mustaqbal bloc head MP Bahia Hariri slammed, in a phone call with Prime Minister Najib Miqati, the lawsuit against Internal Security Force chief Maj. Gen. Imad Othman, al-Sharq newspaper said.
The daily said Thursday that Miqati also rejected the behavior of Judge Ghada Aoun.
He accused Aoun of "slandering" Othman, the daily said, affirming to Hariri that Othman had carried out all his duties in coordination with him and with the Interior Minister.
The Prime Minister said he will personally follow up on the issue with the Minister of Justice and the Public Prosecutor, the newspaper added.
For her part, Hariri said that al-Mustaqbal bloc might ask for a parliamentary session to debrief the Minister of Justice about Aoun's "perpetrations."
Aoun had sued on Wednesday Othman after accusing him of preventing security forces from bringing in for questioning the central bank governor Riad Salameh.
The move by Aoun came a day after she said that a police force prevented members of State Security, an intelligence agency, from bringing Salameh from his home for questioning.
A force from State Security went to Salameh's home and office to bring him in for questioning and no one answered when they knocked on the door.
Aoun said she then told the force to break in after Salameh failed to show up for questioning for a fourth time. At that point, she said, members of the Internal Security Forces, or police, warned State Security agents that they cannot go in by force otherwise “there will be a confrontation.”
Aoun said Tuesday that she then sent a formal letter to Othman, asking for an explanation regarding the incident. She said fighting authorities and preventing the implementation of a judicial order as Othman did, is an offense.
It was not immediately clear if Othman will show up for questioning next week.
Salameh, who is accused of corruption and dereliction of duty, is being sued by an anti-corruption group. He is also being investigated in several countries including Switzerland, Luxembourg and France for potential money laundering and embezzlement.
The division between Internal Security Forces and State Security mirrors the rivalry between the country’s politicians.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi denied there were divisions within the two security agencies, saying they are both carrying out their duties, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Othman is considered close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who quit politics last month, and was a main opponent of President Michel Aoun, who backs the head of State Security.
Judge Aoun has also been blamed of being close to the president. Although both have the same family name, the judge and the president are not related.
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil said Wednesday that the FPM had always been against Salameh's policies but did not have the required majority to replace him in the past.
He demanded a political decision in Cabinet to replace Salameh, regardless of what happens in the judiciary.
Many hold Salameh partly responsible for the financial crisis, blaming him for policies that only drove national debt up and caused the currency to tumble.
But Salameh, who has been in the post for nearly three decades, still enjoys backing from most politicians, including the country’s prime minister.
Al-Mustaqbal Movement for instance and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat were against Judge Aoun's decision.
Al-Joumhouria newspaper even said that a political leader warned that the arrest of Salameh “in a confrontational way might lead to a civil war.”
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