March 14 Sources Downplay FPM Threat to Topple Government
March 14 sources have ruled out the possibility that the Free Patriotic Movement's latest escalation might reach the extent of toppling Prime Minister Tammam Salam's government, the Kuwaiti daily al-Anbaa said on Tuesday.
“Such attempts have proved futile,” the sources said, noting that Fouad Saniora's government survived for nine months in 2008 “despite the encirclement of the Grand Serail by (protesters from) all the March 8 forces.”
“Another reason is that Hizbullah and AMAL Movement are currently not part of this escalation,” the sources added.
“Hizbullah -- which knows the strategic risks that may emanate from ousting the government amid vacuum in state institutions -- is communicating with the FPM and urging it to practice restraint,” the sources went on to say.
According to the sources, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have also told Salam that his government and political stability in Lebanon are a red line.
FPM chief Jebran Bassil had warned Sunday that the FPM would “topple the government” through street protests if the other parties do not heed the movement's demand regarding “partnership” and the National Pact.
“We cannot live together through nice words but rather through sharing responsibility and burdens in the presidency, the government, the parliament and appointments, or else we would be living a lie,” Bassil said.
“We must be partners... We are not your employees, workers or second-class citizens. If you reject our president we will reject your president,” the FPM chief warned.
He also warned that if the government “does not abide by the people's interest,” the FPM would “topple it in the street” for “violating the National Pact.”
“We cannot bear this any longer. If we take to the streets this time, we will not leave them, whether we protest alone or with anyone who would like to join us,” Bassil cautioned.
The FPM, which has the biggest Christian bloc in parliament, has suspended its participation in cabinet sessions and national dialogue meetings over accusations that other parties in the country are not respecting the National Pact.
The 1943 National Pact is an unwritten agreement that set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a multi-confessional state based on Christian-Muslim partnership.
Addressing Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Bassil had recently said that “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 Suleiman Franjieh hit back at Bassil last week, saying Marada and the other Christian parties in the cabinet “represent a lot more than six percent.”
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