Report: Cabinet to Hold Session in Baabda, Seeks to Contain 'Discontent' over Aoun's Bahrain Comments

A cabinet session will be held at Baabda Palace instead of the Grand Serail on Wednesday given “the importance and the seriousness of the topics to be discussed”, the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.

Wednesday's session will try to contain the discontent over Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's comments on the current situation in Bahrain.

“His statements might trigger some Gulf countries to ban Lebanese citizens from entering Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) territories,” official sources told Anadolu.

It revealed: “President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Naijb Miqati will release a statement after the meeting to reemphasize on the cabinet's policy of disassociation towards the current regional events”.

Al-Akhbar daily newspaper said on Tuesday that Secretary-General of the GCC Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani informed Lebanese Chargé d'affaires in Saudi Arabia Munir Anouti that the Gulf countries demand the government to take a strict stance from Aoun's statements on the developments in Bahrain.

Bahrain had summoned on Friday the Lebanese charge d'affaires Ibrahim Assaf at the Lebanese Embassy in the Gulf state over remarks made by Aoun earlier this week, reported the Bahrain News Agency.

The statements the MP made to Iran's al-Alam television on Wednesday were considered by Bahrain as an “irresponsible meddling in its internal affairs.”

The FPM leader had told al-Alam that the demands of the protesters in Bahrain are “fair and justified.”

He criticized the Arab League and international community for failing to support the protests.

Aoun added: “It's unfortunate that a peaceful revolution, which has been oppressed and going on for three years, has not been recognized enough by the world.”