Hariri”s Cabinet wins record number of confidence votes
Premier says Government committed to defending its territories
Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government was granted a record number of confidence votes on Thursday, as 122 out of 124 lawmakers present at Parliament voted in favor of the Cabinet. In a short address before the vote, Hariri stressed his government’s commitment to the Taif Accord as well as unity between its members.
Hariri said his government was committed to defending its territories and its water. “This issue concerns all the Lebanese and this is what we agreed upon in article 6 of the ministerial statement,” he added, referring to the clause related to the resistance’s arms.
He said the clause does not overlook the right of the state to defend Lebanon.
Hariri is expected to visit Syria next Monday to hold talks with President Bashar Assad, media reports said Thursday.
Four out of 128 lawmakers missed the sixth parliamentary session aimed at holding the government accountable for its policy statement. MP Nicholas Fattouch from the Zahle in the Heart bloc, a member of the parliamentary majority, did not grant the Cabinet the vote of confidence, while Jamaa al-Islamyia MP Imad al-Hout, also a member of the majority, abstained from voting.
Both MPs protested that they were not represented in the Cabinet.
Prior to Hariri’s speech, MP and former Premier Fouad Siniora slammed Hizbullah lawmakers’ call to adopt consensus as the basis of governance until the abolishment of sectarianism, saying such proposal violated the Constitution since the Taif Accord did not grant any religious faction veto power.
Siniora added that the extended period of negotiations prior to the cabinet formation should also be an exception rather than a rule.
Also on Thursday, Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc leader MP Mohammad Raad stressed that consensual democracy should remain the basis of governance of Lebanon’s political regime until the abolishment of political sectarianism.
Raad added that political sectarianism constituted an obstacle to majority rule, which grants the majority the right to govern and the opposition the right to oppose.
Raad also called for arming the Lebanese Army with modern and advanced weapons and slammed the US for supporting Israel and refusing to grant the army any advanced equipment.
Meanwhile, Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel stressed that article six of the ministerial statement was illegitimate and void since it was enforced under the pressure of the May 7, 2008 incidents and weapons.
Article six deals with the right to liberate Lebanon’s territories by means of its army, resistance and people.
Gemayel said the Lebanese were witnessing the implications of the Doha agreement and the May 7 events. He added that compromises had governed Lebanese politics since the country’s independence.
In May 2008, clashes broke out in Beirut and the Chouf between pro-government and opposition gunmen following a government decision to dismantle Hizbullah’s private communications network. Feuding groups reconciled in Doha and agreed to elect Michel Sleiman as the new head of the state and form a national unity cabinet.
Gemayel said the clauses of the Doha agreement and the Taif Accord were approved by MPs “under the threat of arms.”
“Whatever your opinion or ours is, you cannot enforce it upon us and the debate should be settled in Parliament; no one wants to eliminate you or push you out of the state but Lebanon cannot defend all Arabs on its own,” Gemayel said, addressing Hizbullah MPs.
Gemayel also called for special bilateral ties with Syria after settling problematic issues between both countries.
In response, Amal Movement MP Ali Hassan Khalil said Gemayel’s stance toward the Taif Accord was dangerous since all Lebanese factions were committed to and had approved the agreement.
Khalil stressed that a clause in the Constitution called for forming a committee tasked with abolishing sectarianism, and that all parties should take responsibility for either implementing or abolishing that clause.
Opposition Baath Party MP Assem Qanso also slammed Gemayel, saying that his grandfather, the founder of the Phalange Party Pierre Gemayel, was the one who had asked Syria to get militarily involved in Lebanon to defend the Christian community against Palestinian factions.
Separately, Phalange head Amin Gemayel said Thursday his party rejected a logic that legitimizes the presence of two armies and authorities over Lebanese territories, expressing his objection to article six of the ministerial statement.
Asked about whether the party would grant the vote of confidence to the Cabinet, Gemayel said that the Phalange party supported the government and its premier, adding that the party was represented in the Cabinet.
Gemayel also called for “positive neutrality” when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict in order to prevent foreign interference in Lebanon’s domestic affairs and to prevent the use of Lebanese territories as a land of war between foreign powers.
Gemayel also questioned Berri’s call for the abolishment of political sectarianism, particularly under the current circumstances and prior to granting the Cabinet confidence.
Addressing lawmakers, Democratic Gathering Bloc MP Marwan Hamadeh voiced concern about the lack of any guarantee with regard to who holds authority over war and peace decisions and the duality in weapons possession, a reference to Hizbullah’s weapons.
He also warned against turning Lebanon into an arena for settling regional and international disputes and called on his “partners in the Cabinet to refrain from involving Lebanon in any adventure or pointing arms again in the direction of domestic strife.”
Hamadeh also slammed process of forming the new government which led to “an illusionary majority and dominant minority.”
Reform and Change bloc MP Abbas Hashem stressed that the resistance was a “sacred right to Lebanon” which supported, protected and defended it.
“I do not find a reason for the ongoing dispute over the resistance’s weapons since the resistance is a national choice, will and self decision to block Israeli violations and liberate occupied territories,” Hashem said.
Tackling the issue of abolishing political sectarianism, Hashem said there was no need to create illusionary disputes since all parties agreed that the formation of a committee tasked with abolishing political sectarianism in accordance with the Taif Accord did not mean the immediate abolishment of sectarianism.
Meanwhile, Fattouch criticized lawmakers who expressed reservations regarding article six of the statement saying rejecting one article was a rejection of the whole statement. “The policy statement dictates the cabinet’s course of action and he who grants the government confidence grants not only the majority within the cabinet confidence but the minority as well,” Fattouch said.
Fattouch also slammed March 14 parties, particularly Christian ones for misrepresenting Zahle city in the government.
“He who wants to truly represent Zahle should be a leader rather than a follower,” Fattouch said, adding that he would refrain from granting the Cabinet confidence.
March 14 MP Nayla Tueini meanwhile said the Cabinet’s statement was an attempt to cover up sharp divisions among Lebanese parties over several issues, including Hizbullah’s weapons.