Salam 'Won't Postpone' Thursday's Cabinet Session despite FPM Boycott
Prime Minister Tammam Salam will not postpone Thursday's cabinet session despite the declared boycott of the Free Patriotic Movement's two ministers, sources close to the PM have said.
“The session will be held on time and the government shall not be paralyzed whenever a party decides to boycott it in protest at an issue that they do not agree to,” the sources said in remarks published Wednesday in al-Joumhouria newspaper.
The sources also rejected the FPM's claim that holding a cabinet session in the absence of the FPM and Kataeb Party ministers would be a violation of the 1943 National Pact, stressing that “all sects will be present and represented.”
“What about the other ten Christian ministers (who will attend the session?),” the sources asked.
“Claiming that the absence of the FPM and Kataeb is an absence of two Christian components of the government is an inaccurate approach,” the sources added.
“Minister Alain Hakim (of Kataeb) is practicing his duties normally at his ministry and the FPM's allies will attend the session, not to mention that the FPM's two ministers have not announced their resignation or informed the premiership of their boycott or resignation. The boycott announcement was issued through the media and this is not a reason to suspend the cabinet's sessions,” the sources explained.
FPM chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil announced Tuesday that his movement had decided to boycott Thursday's cabinet session as a “warning message,” cautioning that the country might be plunged into a political “system crisis” if the other parties do not heed the FPM's demands.
“The issue has to do with respecting the National Pact in the government's meetings. Will it convene without us? Will it convene in the absence of the Christian forces?” Bassil said.
“Will our partners in the country accept a government that governs in the absence of Christians?” he added.
The 1943 National Pact is an unwritten agreement that distributed power among the country's religious communities and set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a multi-confessional state.
The FPM's decision is linked to the thorny issue of military appointments.
Last week, Defense Minister Samir Moqbel postponed the retirement of Higher Defense Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir after no consensus was reached over three candidates that he had proposed, angering the FPM which says that it opposes term extensions for all senior officers.
The movement fears that the extension of Kheir's term could pave the way for a new extension of the tenure of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji next month.
Qahwaji's retirement had been postponed in September 2013 and his term was instead extended for two years.
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