Fayyad says 'couldn't sleep all night' after Mikati refers blackout file to judiciary

Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad has rejected that Électricité du Liban chairman Kamal Hayek be held responsible for the latest blackout in the country, after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati referred the file to the judiciary.

"I was surprised with what happened … I wasn’t expecting this injustice represented in the measure taken by Mikati and he has no right to pin the blame on a single party,” Fayyad said in an interview with MTV.

“I told him during a meeting that brought us together yesterday that I couldn’t sleep all night, seeing as my conscience does not allow me to do that at all. We must see the context of things in order to make a judgement, or else the judgement would be unfair. Why didn’t they probe the total blackout that the country had witnessed in the past?” the minister added.

Asked about the reasons behind the blackout, Fayyad blamed “the lack of diversity in power sources” and “the foreign siege imposed on us,” in reference to Washington’s Caesar Act that has prevented the import of gas and electricity from Egypt and Jordan via Syria.

Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper meanwhile reported that the judiciary has decided to launch a probe into the file, after the blackout affected vital facilities in the country, such as the airport and state-run hospitals.

“State Prosecutor Judge Jamal al-Hajjar has received a memo from caretaker PM Najib Mikati in this regard, and he has started studying it ahead of scheduling sessions for beginning the investigation in the case,” the daily said.

And as EDL chairman Hayek arrived Wednesday for an interrogation session, the newspaper said other board members and officials and possibly Fayyad himself will be summoned for questioning.