Mustaqbal Says Govt. 'Solidarity' Essential, Calls for Respecting Its 'Requirements'
Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday stressed the importance of “solidarity” among the government's components, saying it “essential” in the face of the current challenges.
In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc called on “some political leaders and forces” to respect “the requirements of this solidarity” and to “rein in the ongoing race for settling scores in one direction or another.”
It accordingly warned that any violation of governmental solidarity would “disrupt the positive atmosphere that prevailed after the formation of the government and the commitments that were mentioned in the Policy Statement and the premier's remarks.”
“There are stances that are part of the overbidding that the Lebanese have become used to... but it will be unacceptable to use those disputes and divergences as a way to impede the available opportunity and deviate attention from the effort that is being exerted to launch governmental and legislative work and to activate the channels of communication with the international and Arab sides that have come together to support Lebanon,” Mustaqbal warned.
Earlier in the day, the Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc had stressed that the latest actions of the ministers Elias Bou Saab and Saleh al-Gharib have not violated the principle of solidarity among the government's members.
“All the talk about the violation of governmental solidarity is baseless and Minister Bou Saab's remarks at the Munich conference were based on the international law and Arab and international consensus,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after the bloc's weekly meeting.
Turning to the issue of the controversial visit to Syria by Saleh al-Gharib, the new State Minister for Refugee Affairs, Kanaan said: “The issue of Syrian refugees should not be subject to polarization and President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri were put in the picture of Gharib's visit to Syria before and after it happened,” Kanaan added.
The issues of restoring full ties with Damascus and the repatriation of Syrian refugees are highly controversial in Lebanon.