Diab Calls Emergency Meeting, Says Salameh's Decision Illegal

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday called for an emergency ministerial meeting to discuss Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh's controversial decision to lift subsidies off fuel imports.

Diab also asked caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni to tell Salameh that his decision is "illegal."

In a statement, Diab said Salameh's decision "violates the law issued by parliament about the ration card as well as the government's policy as to the rationalization of subsidies."

He noted that the government had repeatedly stressed that "subsidies should be rationalized, not lifted, in parallel with the approval of the ration card which would help citizens bear the cost of this rationalization."

Diab also asked Wazni to inform Salameh of the content of the memo to "act accordingly and do what's necessary as quick as possible."

The caretaker PM added that Salemeh's move "does not take into consideration the deep economic and social crisis and would have very dangerous repercussions on the country."

"Two days ago, we finalized the implementation mechanism of the ration card and the execution has become imminent. The decision to end subsidies could have waited until the (ration) card becomes in use," Diab went on to say.