24 Colonels to be Promoted Except for Wissam al-Hassan

President Michel Suleiman has signed a decree to promote 24 colonels in the Internal Security Forces to the rank of brigadier general but excluded the head of the ISF’s Information Branch, Col. Wissam al-Hassan.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel announced Thursday that al-Hassan’s promotion will take place in accordance with a decree to be issued on January 1, 2012 after having completed six years in service.

Al-Hassan, who is close to former Premier Saad Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal movement, has drawn fierce criticism from the Hizbullah-led March 8 forces and mainly the Free Patriotic Movement.

Suleiman inked the decree on Thursday night after it had received the green light of Charbel, Premier Najib Miqati and Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi.

In October, Suleiman withheld his signature from the decree to promote the police officers at the behest of Hizbullah and FPM leader Michel Aoun.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc sources had said that Syria was behind the blocking of Hassan’s promotion because it was frustrated at ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi’s attempt to link the disappearance of Syrian opposition members in Lebanon to the Syrian embassy.

Suleiman told Ad-Diyar newspaper on Friday that he should have an essential opinion in the appointments in the judiciary so that the judges could be fair and neutral.

People have the impression that the candidates won’t be neutral if they are nominated by political parties, he said.