Miqati Again Says Won't Convene Cabinet without Prior Agreement

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Thursday warned that calling for a Cabinet session without a prior agreement with the boycotting parties “aggravate” the situation.

“Everyone must stop considering the government to be a barricade for futile political wrangling,” Miqati said.

“It is true that the governmental work is continuing through the ministerial meetings we’re holding, or through the competent ministries and administrations, but the absence of Cabinet meetings represents a main gap that we’re seeking to address calmly and patiently,” the premier added.

He accordingly cautioned that “calling for a Cabinet session amid the current tense circumstances, and without securing the minimum level of understanding, would stoke the dispute and make things more complicated.”

Miqati also pleaded to the parties, stressing that “the time is no longer appropriate for obstruction, arrogance or imposing conditions and counter-conditions.”

“The levels of collapse require all efforts to come together to find solutions,” he urged.

Miqati’s remarks come two days after President Michel Aoun said a Cabinet session should be held, “even if it gets boycotted” by Hizbullah, the Amal Movement and their allies.

Cabinet has not convened since October 14, when a political crisis erupted over Judge Tarek Bitar’s probe into the Beirut port blast, with Hizbullah and Amal demanding that a decision be taken in Cabinet to remove him over alleged bias. Aoun's camp and other parties have meanwhile voiced their rejection of any political interference in the judiciary.