Aoun: Salam Can't Form De Facto Cabinet, He's to Blame for Obstruction

by Naharnet Newsdesk 10 years

Timeline

Aoun: The failure to control the border with Syria is a deliberate negligence ... The border must be closed and medical assistance must be offered to refugees. 10 years

Aoun: When 83 countries send Salafists to Syria, that's not a revolution, but rather an international war on Syrian soil. 10 years

Aoun: We are not in the March 8 camp and we have several conflicting viewpoints. I'm not also a centrist; what does centrism mean? 10 years

Aoun to al-Mustaqbal Movement: Let them find a text that obliges me to accept portfolio rotation and I would do what they want. Those who were in charge of the finance ministry for 20 years and bankrupted it cannot speak of portfolio rotation. 10 years

Aoun: A strong president is a president who respects the constitution and laws and who enjoys popular support. 10 years

Aoun: The Taef Accord was not respected and I had called around the dialogue table for clarifying the ambiguous clauses in it, which are related to authorities and the cabinet's bylaws. 10 years

Aoun: If I was able to implement the change and reform plan, I would be the first candidate for the presidency, but we have not taken a decision until the moment. 10 years

Aoun: Salam cannot form a de facto cabinet. 10 years

Aoun: The PM-designate is to blame for the obstruction. 10 years

Aoun: I don't know where we're heading when the constitution is being torn up. 10 years

Aoun: Nowadays, we've been hearing a threat to form a de facto cabinet. Who are they to launch such a threat? When the PM-designate fails, he must step down and if such a cabinet was formed, it would be unconstitutional. 10 years

Aoun: From 10 months ago until today, the parliamentary consultations have not been followed by the formation of a cabinet and we have not been consulted. No one has visited us or even contacted us. Minister Bassil visited the PM-designate, who asked us to give him names. He said he would allocate portfolios to our candidates and that we would be pleased, but at the moment we are not pleased. 10 years

Aoun: We're the ones who unveiled the oil wealth and overcame the taboos and this issue needs courage. 10 years

Aoun: All ministries are important to us, but since 1926 until today, no one in Lebanon has taken the issue of oil into consideration, due to negligence or collusion or maybe lack of vision. 10 years

Aoun: Saniora did not talk about what he wants but rather about what he rejects, because he was annoyed by the Impossible Acquittance book. 10 years

Aoun: Political stances were voiced before the parliamentary consultations and they called for preventing the Aounists from having the telecom and energy portfolios. Ex-PM Saniora endorsed the calls and said he wants portfolio rotation and that the cabinet must not contain partisan or political figures. 10 years

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in an interview on al-Mayadeen TV: The consultations over cabinet formation have not led to anything and no progress has been made. 10 years

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Friday stressed that Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam will not be able to form “a de facto cabinet,” blaming him for the delay in the cabinet formation process.

“The consultations over cabinet formation have not led to anything and no progress has been made,” Aoun said during an interview with the pan-Arab, Beirut-based al-Mayadeen television.

“Political stances were voiced before the parliamentary consultations (to name a PM-designate) and they called for preventing the Aounists from having the telecom and energy portfolios. (Former) PM (Fouad) Saniora endorsed the calls and said he wants portfolio rotation and that the cabinet must not contain partisan or political figures,” Aoun explained.

“Saniora did not talk about what he wants but rather about what he rejects, because he was annoyed by the Impossible Acquittance book,” which was released by the Change and Reform bloc, Aoun added.

Salam has lamented that the cabinet crisis has been further deadlocked by the conditions set by Aoun. The PM-designate is insisting on the rotation of portfolios among sects and political parties in a 24-member government based on the 8-8-8 formula, but Aoun is sticking to his demand to retain the energy and telecom portfolios.

Explaining the insistence on the energy and water portfolio, Aoun said during Friday's interview that “all ministries are important to us, but since 1926 until today, no one in Lebanon has taken the issue of oil into consideration, due to negligence or collusion or maybe lack of vision.”

“We're the ones who unveiled the oil wealth and overcame the taboos and this issue needs courage,” he noted.

“From 10 months ago until today, the parliamentary consultations have not been followed by the formation of a cabinet and we have not been consulted. No one has visited us or even contacted us,” Aoun decried.

“Minister Bassil visited the PM-designate, who asked us to give him names. He said he would allocate portfolios to our candidates and that we would be pleased, but at the moment we are not pleased,” he went on to say.

Aoun slammed President Michel Suleiman and Salam's “threat to form a de facto cabinet.”

“Who are they to launch such a threat? When the PM-designate fails, he must step down and if such a cabinet was formed, it would be unconstitutional,” Aoun warned.

“I don't know where we're heading when the constitution is being torn up,” he added.

Aoun pointed out that the PM-designate “is to blame for the obstruction,” emphasizing that he will not be able to form a so-called de facto cabinet.

Referring to al-Mustaqbal Movement, Aoun added: “Let them find a text that obliges me to accept portfolio rotation and I would do what they want. Those who were in charge of the finance ministry for 20 years and bankrupted it cannot speak of portfolio rotation.”

Asked whether he would run in the upcoming presidential election, Aoun said: “If I was able to implement the change and reform plan, I would be the first candidate for the presidency, but we have not taken a decision until the moment."

When asked about his definition of a strong president, the FPM leader added: "A strong president is a president who respects the constitution and laws and who enjoys popular support.”

In response to another question, Aoun stated: “We are not in the March 8 camp and we have several conflicting viewpoints. I'm not also a centrist; what does centrism mean?”

Turning to the Syrian crisis, the FPM leader pointed out that “when 83 countries send Salafists to Syria, that's not a revolution, but rather an international war on Syrian soil.”

Commenting on cross-border shelling on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Aoun said “the failure to control the border with Syria is a deliberate negligence.”

“The border must be closed and medical assistance must be offered to refugees,” he added.

SourceNaharnet

Lebanon Politics

Comments 19

geha 10 years

aoun on al mayadeen :)

I think that says it all for this Syrian agent :)

cedars2 10 years

Very true M11

ToniFarris 10 years

FT understand Eco no money. Lol

amatoury114 10 years

Truly a thief and liar thinks everyone is a thief and a liar....i will leave u to deduct your own thing from that....OD on this.....am on you man...u do not deserve to be respected since you are not respecting anyone...i thought this is a civilized forum....not with you in it

cedars2 10 years

Rave! Rant! Easy on the pills keyboard warrior.

cedars2 10 years

Yes, according to him its Salaams fault.

amatoury114 10 years

talking of baseless....really u have evidence that he is geting paid to post things here...truly...i thought it was a running joke but i think u are serious about this allegations!!!
WOW u really think someone can get paid to post comments on naharnet!!!! is this the 2020 utopia world we will be in?

general_puppet 10 years

Flimflam is on a One Man Rampage, if he is not careful he will end up in one of Aoun's Straightjackets.

popeye 10 years

it is really a farce this flamethrower is even allowed to post.

Mazen 10 years

http://www.danielpipes.org/6310/if-lebanon-fails-so-does-the-middle-east

cedars 10 years

Who did he not attack? He is not m8, he attacked both president and Salam, he went after saniora and he does not want anything but very disgusted with everything except the milk bottle.

popeye 10 years

how dirty and disgusting can your comments be flamethrower?

cedars 10 years

Dayr el saleeeb is that way

amatoury114 10 years

Sorry flimflam but following ur logic previously I have a life outside of naharnet. ..just came back from dinner. ....but yes this language used by both of you has no place here...guys truly I think we are all mature and educated we can disagree and disapprove in a civilized manner. ..oh and flamflam didn't know you still use diapers. ...I guess uranus went thru a lot of proctologists

geha 10 years

@ Naharnet

until when do you want to let people like ft, mowaten, mystic, southern,... go ahead with low life insults without removing them?

why is your moderator not doing a proper job? there is a difference between freedom of speech and low life z3ran comments!

furthermore, I suggest you stop the voting system as you should have noticed that hizbushaitan have a voting brigade at work on your site! they are so stupid that they reached this low!

geha 10 years

Ft is an admitted shia.

but that has nothing to do with anything.

Guys

I suggest we all ignore totally the comments of the so called ft, mowaten, mystic, southern, and so on.. until they start behaving like human beings, and stop their sectarian hatred and insults.

there is no need to answer their provocations.

I suggest you all post a request to naharnet asking for a stop to the voting system if they cannot control the voting mob machine of m8

geha 10 years

من نكر أصله لا أصل له

are you ashamed of your sect? you advised long ago that you are shia! do you have Alzheimer?

ice-man 10 years

Falmethrower: Did you get any sleep last night? You posted 45 comments alone on this thread! Please, I am worried about you, seriously!!!!

Observer (Guest) 10 years

No will to communicate and agree on anything.Just insulting each other.that can go for years.... NO wonder why Lebanon has been in crisis since at least 1864 ....