Tuesday 7 July 2009

Aoun to Al-Manar: Lebanese Have No Role in Forming Their Gov't


Aoun to Al-Manar: Lebanese Have No Role in Forming Their Gov't
Hussein Assi Readers Number : 484

06/07/2009
One week after his appointment as Prime Minister-Designate, MP Saad Hariri seems to be always unable to form a national-unity government in which he could "satisfy" his allies and at the same time "attract" his rivals…

Yet, and while consultations in Lebanon seem to be very slow, the Lebanese cabinet is nowadays the main headline worldwide and the main "plate" in international summits, making the Lebanese cabinet an international affair per excellence as if the Lebanese cabinet was actually formed outside Lebanon.

Thus, the "internationalization" of the Lebanese cabinet seems to have already taken place… This is at least what the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun believes.

Speaking to Al-Manar, Aoun vehemently criticized the shift of the cabinet formation file from the local authorities' hands to the international community. According to the General, "taking notice of what's happening cannot be considered a participation in the cabinet formation process."

Aoun, who heads the opposition's largest bloc in the Parliament and is calling for a proportional representation of the Parliament in the upcoming cabinet, said that the cabinet formation process doesn't seem to be simple under the current circumstances. He said that the general picture was negative since the Lebanese, all the Lebanese, seem to have no role in forming their own cabinet.

The head of the 27-member Change and Reform parliamentary bloc questioned those who used to raise the slogans of sovereignty and independence about their suspicious silence at the current stage. "They fought us because of such slogans but at the end, it has been proven that we are the real protectors of sovereignty and independence."

The General highlighted the fact that he cannot accept to be excluded by anyone, regardless of his identity and level, in the consultations over sensitive issues or even over his portion in the cabinet. Aoun stressed, in conclusion, that a national-unity government that doesn't give the opposition the true participation in decision-making wouldn't be possible.

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