Change and Reform Calls for 'Respecting Agreement' over Cabinet's Decision-Taking Mechanism

The Change and Reform bloc condemned on Tuesday the silence over the “assaults committed against student demonstrators” in front of the Grand Serail last week, while demanding that agreements made over the cabinet's decision-taking power be respected.

MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “It is everyone's duty to respect the agreements made at government regarding its mechanism.”

Addressing the demonstrations of Free Patriotic Movement supporters on Thursday in front of the government building, he criticized the absence of condemnations from “parliament and other officials.”

“Last week's developments may represent a precedent in Lebanon in that democratic actions can be suppressed,” he warned after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting.

The FPM supporters were protesting against the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam, while a cabinet session was being held at the same time.

The protesters were gathered in the vicinity of the Grand Serail and attempted to break the army's barrier around the area, resulting in scuffles between both sides.

“The students who were present in front of the Grand Serail were there to express themselves. Were all the political and military measures taken in the area so necessary?” continued Kanaan.

“The guards tasked with protecting the building were more than enough to thwart any so-called danger posed by the demonstrators,” he added

“The civilians were calling for their rights in a democratic manner. Where is the crime in that?” he wondered.

The cabinet will convene on July 23 to discuss its working mechanism in the absence of a president.

FPM chief MP Michel Aoun had called on his supporters to prepare for rallies to restore what he described as “the rights of the Christians.”

Aoun has been lobbying for the appointment of Commando Regiment commander Chamel Roukoz, his son-in-law, as army chief.

M.T.

Y.R.