Miqati Optimistic on Settling Prolonged Crises

Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed relief on Thursday on the success of the authorities in resolving several crises gripping Lebanon, in particular the demands of the Syndicate Coordination Committee and Electricite du Liban’s contract workers.

“The recent crises seemed they were undermining the state’s authority, but I had as a premier to choose between resolving them by using force or calmly,” Miqati told An Nahar newspaper.

He said that he is only concerned about achieving the goal through peaceful means even if the settlements took a long time.

“We succeeded in avoiding confrontation and removing the obstacles one by one,” Miqati stated.

However, the premier noted that his government will certainly have to face new crises.

“Definitely there will be other impediments due to the situation we’re passing through, but I took a pledge to resolve each crisis with composure,” Miqati added.

Asked about the cabinet session scheduled to convene on Thursday at the Grand Serail, the PM said that it will tackle 57 articles.

He denied that the session will address the appointment of top civil servants in state posts or any other controversial issues from outside the agenda.

Several officials said that EDL contract workers’ crisis, which erupted three months ago, has been settled as the concerned parties are drafting the final agreement.

EDL contract workers are demanding the company to pay their June-July salaries and their full-time employment.

On Wednesday, the ministerial committee tasked with studying the new wages scale for the public sector was able to settle the demands of the SCC as they are expected to resume the correction of grades 9 and 12 official exams on Thursday.