Aoun Labels Himself as “Obstructer,” Hezbollah Requested to Provide Clarification
Coordinator of the March 14 General Secretariat Fares Soueid told the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Tuesday that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun has “set himself as the obstructer of the cabinet formation” by insisting to re-appoint his son-in-law, Telecommunication Minister Gebran Bassil, as a minister in the new cabinet.
The coordinator also said that if the FPM leader’s position is “personal, then it would not be an obstacle.” However, Soueid stressed that if Hezbollah knows about Aoun’s intention to obstruct the cabinet formation, then that is problematic, since the party would be hiding behind Aoun. “Thus, we request clarification from Hezbollah” on its position from Aoun’s speech, Soueid added.
He called for Aoun to respect the voters’ choice and not give ministries to defeated candidates, a reference to Bassil who lost the 2009 electoral race, “because this is what President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri agreed on following the June 7 elections.”