Khalil Says There are ‘Two Presidents’ in Lebanon, Accuses FPM of ‘Catastrophic Failure’

The political aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, said Monday in response to Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil’s “rude accusations” that the Shiite Duo cannot be “blackmailed” by any “words of incitement.”

The alliance between “the patriotic duo” is based on transparency and respect, Khalil said.

The lawmaker went on to accuse the FPM of disrupting Cabinet sessions in the past, of corruption at the Ministry of Energy, of shelving draft laws, of covering up for thefts and of causing half of the Christians to emigrate.

“There is diffusion in responsibility, when two presidents are elected at the same time,” Khalil said.

He added that Bassil is not defending the Christian rights, that were “wasted” by the FPM, but rather “his clan’s rights.”

“The Lebanese have lived years of disruption for the son-in-law’s sake,” Khalil said.

He added that Bassil is speaking of financial decentralization “to cover up the catastrophic failure and waste at the Ministry of Energy,” and accused Bassil and President Michel Aoun of shelving and delaying many draft laws.

Concerning the Tayyouneh clashes, Khalil asked “how the right to expression and demonstration became a conspiracy and how Bassil considered it an illegal act.”

Hizbullah and Amal have been widely critical of the investigation into last year’s Beirut Port investigation, accusing the judge of being biased and asking for his dismissal — a position at odds with Bassil's party.

The dispute triggered October deadly clashes, further straining relations with Bassil’s party, which accused Amal of the violence.