Cabinet Meets for First Time since Hasan Assassination, to Approve Diplomatic Appointments

Cabinet is scheduled to convene at the Baabda Palace on Wednesday for the first time since the October 19 assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, reported the As Safir newspaper Wednesday.

Ministerial sources highlighted to the daily the significance of the session, in that it will likely approve diplomatic appointments and stress that it will continue its duties despite the pressure it is coming under by the March 14-led opposition.

“Issuing the appointments will grant the government a moral push that it is in desperate need of at the moment,” they remarked.

In addition, they revealed that the cabinet will soon shift its attention to the appointments in the petroleum sector, in a hope to approve them as soon as possible.

The March 14 camp has been demanding the resignation of the cabinet since Hasan's murder in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.

It accused Syria of being behind the crime, saying that the government, which is comprised of pro-Syria allies, is covering up for it.

The March 14 forces on Tuesday declared a “total boycott” of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government, calling for a “neutral, salvation government that endorses the Baabda Declaration as its ministerial Policy Statement.”

“We will not tolerate that our rejection of the dangerous situation be depicted as a battle to return to power or to the premiership,” the March camp said in a statement issued after a broad meeting for its leaders at the Center House in downtown Beirut.

The Baabda Declaration was reached during the first national dialogue session that was held in June after a 19-month absence.

The Declaration, issued on June 11, calls for political and media calm in Lebanon, supporting the army, and keeping Lebanon away from regional and international disputes.