Mashnouq: Street Mobility a Warning Siren, Aoun's Call for Direct Election Unrealistic
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq emphasized on Wednesday that the latest street mobility is a warning siren that can not be neglected by politicians, assuring that the Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun's call to elect a president from the people is totally unrealistic.
“What happened in the streets is a siren to the political strata that they should take seriously and address as a new factor in every day life,” said Mashnouq in an interview to Sky News Arabia.
“Rejecting everything is the current mood prevailing (among the protesters) which is due to the lack of trust between the state and the people,” he added.
Anti-government activists are holding rallies stemming from a trash collection crisis that erupted in July 17 when the largest landfill that receives the trash of Beirut and Mount Lebanon was closed.
What started as protests against waste piling because of government dysfunction is turning into Lebanon's largest protest movement in years, targeting an entire political class.
The protesters are not only complaining about the garbage, they are also accusing corrupt officials of being the reason behind severe power cuts and water shortages.
The minister described the political rivalries in Lebanon as “despicable to the point that they can disable any right or duty of the citizen to the state.”
“The calls to topple the regime in Lebanon are only calls for chaos. How can a regime be toppled without elections?” he asked.
“We cannot introduce change in Lebanon unless we introduce a modern electoral law that opens the door for the minorities, independents and the youth. The demands of the civil society are a warning for politicians and sects urging them to elect a president and approve a new modern electoral law.”
He expressed his belief that “a settlement in Lebanon's presidential elections may be partially available,” adding that “there is an internationally significant decision not to expose Lebanon to violent shocks.”
He believed that there was “an accumulation of mistrust between citizens and the state as a result of the substantial decline in the services that are the basis of their dailylives , whether the electricity or social services , and finally the waste file ".
On the calls of Aoun to elect the president from the people, Mashnouq described it as “unrealistic.”
“It is a threat to obstruct the whole state until the introduction of constitutional amendments that he wishes for.”
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/189895 |