Bassil Hits Back at Salam: Cabinet Must Not Violate National Pact
Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed Wednesday that the 1943 National Pact stipulated that we should “live together equally,” hitting back at remarks by Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
“The cabinet is the means for implementing the National Pact, not for violating it,” Bassil tweeted.
“In the absence of a president, where is loyalty (to the National Pact),” he said.
“Where are the heroes of independence? Where are the sons of the National Pact? Where are your descendants? We are your descendants, we are the sons of the National Pact and the sons of Lebanon,” Bassil added, in a jab at Salam who is the son of late PM Saeb Salam, one of Lebanon's most prominent post-independence premiers.
Earlier in the day, Salam called on all political forces on Wednesday to “refrain from obstruction” and “support and enhance the work of state institutions.”
“I'm seeking to maintain my role as a guardian of this entity,” he added.
“I'm entrusted with the cabinet and its work and I will carry on with this duty,” Salam stressed.
Media reports have said that the prime minister will not postpone Thursday's cabinet session despite the declared boycott of the FPM.
The FPM's recent boycott of cabinet meetings is linked to the thorny issue of military and security appointments and the government's decision-taking mechanism in the absence of a president.
The defense minister had recently 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.
Addressing Salam on Friday, Bassil said “the son of late PM Saeb Salam must pay great attention when he says that the government is respecting the National Pact when it convenes in the presence of ministers representing only six percent of a main component of the country (Christians).”
Bassil has also warned that the country might be soon plunged into a “political system crisis” if the other parties do not heed the FPM's demands regarding Muslim-Christian “partnership.”
Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh hit back at Bassil on Monday, saying Marada and the other Christian parties in the cabinet “represent a lot more than six percent.”
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