Miqati Avoids Removing Sunnis from ‘Sensitive Posts’ as Packed Agenda Awaits Cabinet Meeting

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Prime Minister Najib Miqati will keep top Sunni personalities in their “sensitive posts” despite previous campaigns by his allies to remove them for being close to former Premier Saad Hariri, ministerial sources said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Monday that among the officials that Miqati intends to keep in their posts are General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and head of the Intelligence Bureau Col. Wissam al-Hassan.

Most of the Sunni personalities filling the “sensitive posts” are from northern Lebanon and particularly from Miqati’s hometown of Tripoli where his electorate is based, the sources said.

Miqati will give priority to full vacant seats in major state institutions when the cabinet meets on Thursday for the first time since receiving the vote of confidence from parliament.

The packed agenda of the government includes decisions on approximately 1,700 political, economic and social issues, As Safir newspaper reported.

But the first session will include 70 items on the agenda and will mostly deal with administrative issues, mainly a request to approve the extension of UNIFIL’s mandate which expires in August.

The renewal of Central Bank Governor Riyad Salameh’s mandate, and the appointment of the army chief-of-staff and the director-general of the presidency will be proposed from outside the agenda, As Safir said.

The army chief-of-staff is expected to be Brig. Gen. Walid Suleiman while sources close to Miqati and President Michel Suleiman remained mum on the candidate for the post of Baabda palace’s director-general.

Comments 5
Default-user-icon Le Phenicien (Guest) 11 July 2011, 09:40

They will be changed and removed ... Lebanon is not a SUNNI Emara ..these days are over and their Emir is OUT for good .

Default-user-icon Concerned (Guest) 11 July 2011, 10:18

....nor is Lebanon a shiite-Hizbullah and Maronite-Aoun circus. Lebanon is for all its sects and religious communities.

Thumb ado.australia 11 July 2011, 10:50

It is not about removing Sunnis, but removing incompetent and troubled individuals from their post. Replace them with other sunnis if u must. Ashraf Rifi, must go. He disobeyed direct orders from his boss, the minister of interior and also the president of the republic! wissam al hassan, is very controversial and should even have been a suspect in hariri murder, through info released through wikileaks that stated his absence on the day hariri was killed and his lie about his alabie that he was sick at the doctors.

Default-user-icon jabal amel (Guest) 11 July 2011, 13:24

yes the whole article is sectarian. normal people don't care about who is sunni and who is not. however, if it takes for the sunnis in lebanon to be peaceful, than the corrupted sunni can and should be replaced with honest sunnis. i will never say that there are no honest sunnis.

Missing peace 11 July 2011, 16:29

weel said slash... M8 are reproaching now the M14 of behaviors that they had during all these years and even worse!

for them half lebanon is sionist or israeli, if they are not happy to live in a multicultural country why don t they take south lebanon and create their hezbolaland away from corruptors criminals and so? they could resist ad ma beddoun! appoint aoun as their president, have their own miitia army, make the laws they want and stop telling bulls... all day long!