ANSD : Govt formation development likely in coming days: Bassil

MON 25 - 11 - 2024

Date: Jan 29, 2019
Source: The Daily Star

Govt formation development likely in coming days: Bassil

Complaining won’t end graft: Aoun

BEIRUT: Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil told local media this week that “the possibility of a positive or a [negative] development” in the government formation deadlock is likely to appear in the coming days.

Bassil, who has been an active main player in the government formation process, told Al Joumhouria in comments published Tuesday that “if the attempts for a solution [are] obstructed again, the whole country will be on the edge of the abyss.”

The same day, Bassil told local daily Al-Akhbar that the government issue was "close to being decided on," without specifying whether developments were positive or negative.

The formation is vital to reviving Lebanon from its worsening economic situation. Several world leaders have pressed for its completion, including most recently European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Christina Lassen, who Monday “expressed concerns that the continued absence of a government is negatively affecting the economic situation and the lives of Lebanese people,” according to a tweet from the EU.

Bassil’s comments come after Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced that this week will be “decisive” for the formation process.

Hariri, who has failed for more than eight months to form a new government, has apparently been left with various options for moving forward: Form the new government, reactivate the caretaker Cabinet or step aside. A couple of officials from Hariri’s Future Movement have dismissed the possibility of the latter option, but the other two seem to remain viable.

Complaining won’t end graft: Aoun

BEIRUT: Merely complaining about corruption in Lebanon won’t resolve the deep-seated issue, President Michel Aoun said Monday, after MP Anwar Khalil accused the president of surrounding himself with corrupt politicians.

Aoun’s remarks did not directly mention Khalil, but appeared to be a response to the MP’s accusations over the weekend that corruption in the country stemmed from people “closest to the top of the political pyramid,” and that Aoun had not done enough to fight it.

During a meeting at Baabda Palace with a delegation from the Electoral Supervisory Committee, Aoun said fighting graft “happens through documenting and reporting on it,” and not by “complaining,” a statement from his office said.

The president also said that it was “easier to control [corruption] within institutions rather than among individuals.”

One tangible way to fight corruption, Aoun said, was to protect the independence of judges “in the face of the political pressures they are subjected to.” He spoke of the importance of judges having legal immunity to shield them from such pressures.

The comments from Khalil, who is a member of the Amal Movement’s parliamentary bloc, drew criticism from MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement, which Aoun founded.

The FPM Sunday accused Khalil of being ineffective against corruption during his years in power, saying that he was “either being a participant or a witness to corruption for over 28 years.”

In addition to the party’s statement, a number of FPM lawmakers also criticized Khalil in posts on social media.

Khalil had issued a statement Sunday explaining that his comments to Aoun were an attempt to “motivate” the president to hold corrupt officials accountable.

His office released another statement Monday to condemn what it said was an “ongoing” campaign against the MP by FPM lawmakers.

The statement criticized the politicians’ handling of the situation, saying that “instead of dealing with this national cause [corruption] responsibly and seriously ... we were surprised that it was turned into a series of insults ... but insults won’t stop us from carrying out our constitutional duties,” the statement said.

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