Naharnet

Aoun Says No Objective to Topple Cabinet

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said on Tuesday that his party does not intend to topple Prime Minister Tammam Salam's government.

“Toppling the cabinet led by Tammam Salam is not among the objectives that we are currently working for,” Aoun told Iran's state news agency IRNA.

“Our priority is to object from within the cabinet and continue our street movements,” he said.

Aoun reiterated that the FPM ministers would object the discussion of any item before dealing with the cabinet's decision-making mechanism.

“Issues such as waste management have been previously discussed by the government and the involved ministers can implement such decisions without stirring them” on Thursday, he said.

The cabinet has several items on its agenda and is set to discuss Lebanon's waste management problem in addition to its working mechanism.

The government crisis grew earlier this month when a dispute broke out between Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, who is Aoun's son-in-law, and Salam.

Bassil accused Salam of infringing on the Christian president's powers in the absence of a head of state.

Despite the dispute, the FPM clinched a deal to discuss the government's decision-making mechanism that was taken as a result of the absence of a president since May 2014.

But the government has other items on its agenda and an environmental crisis that erupted over the weekend will likely be thoroughly discussed.

The Naameh landfill that lies south of Beirut was closed last Friday in accordance with a government decision.

The closure caused trash to spill out of dumpsters after Sukleen, which is responsible for collecting and transporting the garbage in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, failed to dispose of waste following the landfill's closure.

Sukleen said it can no longer fill up its premises with accumulated trash.


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/185258