Karami Slams Aoun’s Threat to Withdraw from Cabinet

State Minister Ahmed Karami slammed reports saying that there is a team that wants electricity and another that doesn’t, noting that it’s not acceptable from MP Michel Aoun to warn the cabinet of withdrawing from it if it didn’t approve what he wants.

“Everyone agreed on giving Aoun the amount of money he requested, but the discussions are around how to provide the money and its distribution and the mechanism of organizing it,” Karami told Akhbar al-Yawm News Agency on Saturday.

He slammed statements hinting that Free Patriotic Movement ministers will withdraw from the cabinet if the electricity bill wasn’t approved.

“We respect General Aoun but if he’s threatening to withdraw from the cabinet if we didn’t approve what he wants, then this is unacceptable… We refuse to sort things this way,” Karami said.

Aoun had called on the Lebanese to occupy the parliament if they want electricity after his draft law was blocked at the parliament.

He also didn’t attend Wednesday’s presidential Iftar banquet in Baabda palace because he refuses to sit at the same table with “some thieves and public money squanderers.”

Karami remarked “the issue was postponed until the next session (to be discussed again).”

Concerning the pro-Syrian people and anti-regime protests in Lebanon, Karami said: “I am against both kinds of protests.”

He told the news agency “I am against killing people by the regime, and I urge it to launch reforms.”

“However, we are not able to interfere with the Syrian internal affairs,” he added.