Mashnouq: We Won't be 'Political Caritas', Enough is Enough

Caretaker Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq stressed Thursday that Lebanon's Sunni community is not a “political Caritas.”

“The Sunni community's great reserve of national responsibility has started to run out, after it was drained or rather blackmailed,” Mashnouq said.

“We're not the only ones concerned with preserving the National Pact and the country,” the minister added.

“We won't be a 'political Caritas', and the same as we have duties we also have rights. It is not acceptable for the premiership to alone become a specialized center for dismantling political bombs and removing the successive landmines which are increasing day after day,” Mashnouq warned.

He lamented that “everyday they are creating a new landmine and inventing new standards that they implement selectively.”

“Honestly, enough is enough, because things have reached an extent that we cannot remain silent about,” Mashnouq cautioned.

He was apparently referring to Hizbullah's insistence on the allocation of a cabinet seat to a grouping of Sunni MPs opposed to Hariri.

Hariri has warned that he prefers to step down rather than give his opponents a seat from his own share.

The row is the last hurdle delaying the formation of the new government after the so-called Christian and Druze obstacles were resolved.