ANSD : Hariri vows to prevent Cabinet obstruction

THU 25 - 4 - 2024

Date: Feb 16, 2019
Source: The Daily Star

Hariri vows to prevent Cabinet obstruction

_{Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star}
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri reaffirmed his commitment to the Taif Accord, the CEDRE reforms and the dissociation policy, while rejecting attempts to obstruct the new government’s work, or align Lebanon with any regional axis, in a clear allusion to the alliance comprising of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. Addressing a mass rally organized by the Future Movement Thursday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Hariri said he would not allow anyone to use the verdict, expected to be issued in this case this year by the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, to incite sectarian strife in the country.

Offering to cooperate with all political parties, Hariri called for the new ministers to get to “work” to solve the chronic electricity crisis, garbage and sewage problems and fight corruption rampant in the public administration.

Hariri’s remarks drew praise Friday from Speaker Nabih Berri, who described the premier’s speech as “moderate and good.”

Speaking to the newly established website, MustaqbalWeb.com, Berri said Hariri’s speech demonstrated his understanding of the concerns expressed by lawmakers during the discussion of the new Cabinet’s policy statement in Parliament.

“We in Parliament will grant today [Friday] or tomorrow [Saturday] at the latest a parliamentary vote of confidence for the government. I am fully hopeful that the speeches we have heard will be achieved,” Berri said.

He added that he was determined to convene regular and monthly legislative sessions after the vote of confidence is held to supervise the government’s performance.

Berri’s remarks came as Parliament Friday wound up three days of discussion of the government’s policy statement and lawmakers granted a vote of confidence to the government.

In his televised speech at the rally held at the Seaside Arena marking his father’s assassination and attended, among other dignitaries, by Saudi royal court envoy Nizar al-Aloula, Hariri urged the new ministers to get to work, saying he would not allow attempts to obstruct the government’s investment program.

“Today, we have a big workshop in the government and Parliament. People talk everyday about the faults and shortcomings, starting with electricity, environment, services, waste [of public funds], smuggling etc.,” Hariri said.

“We spent 10 years tying the fate of our country to the fate of the region’s wars. We paid the price from our political, economic and social stability. Today we are at a crossroads. Either we continue to drown in disputes over shares or we decide to start the workshop.”

Referring to the government’s investment program and last year’s CEDRE conference held in Paris, where the international community pledged over $11 billion in soft loans and investments for Lebanon, Hariri said: “We have a clear program with clear funding and mechanisms based on transparency and reforms. There is no chance for waste or for the thieves of shares and opportunities. It is an investment program in projects and services in all regions, especially the deprived regions.”

Hariri dismissed rumors that Lebanon, burdened by over $84 billion in public debt, was gathering more debt. “This talk has nothing to do with the economy and the investment program. It aims to nag and block work ... Personally, I will not remain silent vis-a-vis any attempt to block the work and obstruct the government program,” Hariri said, adding: “President Aoun, Speaker Berri and I have decided to turn the Cabinet and Parliament into a work cell. There is an opportunity that we are not allowed to miss.”

Hariri, who formed a 30-member national unity Cabinet on Jan. 31, emphasized that economic and social security was as important as political security.

“For this reason, I am extending my hand to cooperate with all leaders and parties without exception.”

Hariri defended the 1989 Taif Accord that ended the 1975-90 Civil War. “Saad Hariri will not abandon the Taif, or accept a violation of the Taif [Accord]. We are the guardians of the Taif Accord, today and tomorrow!”

Declaring that 2019 would be the year of justice in his father’s assassination, Hariri pledged to prevent any sectarian fallout from the STL’s verdict.

“After a few months, the verdict session in the case of the martyr premier and his companions will be held. Now we can say that 2019 will be the year of justice that we have been waiting for to know the truth,” he said. “Many say that the truth is known and the verdict is a proclamation of a known thing. But for us, the truth won’t be the truth if it not issued clearly and officially by the Special Tribunal. We don’t see and don’t accept to see the verdict as a way to take revenge. The verdict is the road to justice and the refusal to cover up the truth no matter how harsh it is.”

Stressing that his father’s killing unified the Lebanese, Hariri said: “We won’t give anyone the chance to use the verdict as a tool [to incite] sedition among the Lebanese.”

Four Hezbollah members have been indicted in the assassination and are accused by the STL of having played various roles in the Feb.14, 2005, Beirut bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others.

Hezbollah has denied involvement in the killing. Hariri stressed Lebanon’s policy of dissociation from regional conflicts.

Appearing to take an indirect jab at the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance, Hariri said Lebanon “is not a state affiliated with any axis and is not an arena for the arms race in the region.”

“Lebanon is an independent Arab state. It has a Constitution, laws, institutions and Arab and international commitments. A state that affirmed its commitment to dissociation. Anything other than this is a point of view that does not bind the state or the Lebanese,” he said.

Separately, Hariri received a cable from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulating him on the government formation. In the cable, Erdogan stressed that Turkey attached “great importance to the sovereignty, independence and security of Lebanon and reiterated Turkey’s commitment to continue its support to the Lebanese people and government,” a statement from Hariri’s media office said.

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