Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s press office issued a statement justifying the decision he took regarding the Qornat al-Sawda case.
“Acting from a responsible position and in the light of the serious security developments that took place in the Qornat al-Sawda region, as well as the recurring disputes that occur in multiple areas due to real estate feuds that sometimes take on a sectarian form, it was deemed necessary to activate the work of the committee formed in 2010 to study how to benefit from the waters of Qornat al-Sawda with the addition of the aspect related to property boundaries,” the statement read.
Mikati’s press office further stated that “in other words, the committee’s scope of work, in addition to the issue of property boundaries, also includes studying the distribution of water and how to benefit from it in the disputed areas, as well as developing an environmental protection plan and identifying protected areas.”
“Additionally, the inclusion of a representative from the Ministry of Justice among the committee members serves to preserve the essential role of the judiciary in this context. It should be noted that the slow progress in completing the delineation work can be addressed through temporary solutions proposed by the committee, pending the final decision on the matter by the relevant judiciary,” Mikati’s statement added.
“Furthermore, the Supreme Judicial Council, in its statement issued on Tuesday, referred to a series of judicial decisions that were taken, yet the disputes still persist, indicating that the resolution is not solely limited to the judicial aspect,” as announced in the press release.
“In any case, in light of the raised objections and bids, the prime minister contacted the chairman of the committee Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi, and asked him to postpone convening the committee and thus suspend its work. He also contacted the Minister of Justice Henry Khoury, and requested him to follow up on the file with the Supreme Judicial Council to expedite the adjudication of related judicial cases,” Mikati’s statement concluded.
Mikati’s statement came after the leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea issued another statement decrying the PM’s decision.
Geagea considered that “Mikati exceeded his authority with his decision on Tuesday to form a committee to study the issue of property disputes along the borders.”
The Lebanese Forces leader “found this decision incomprehensible, as the matter of property disputes along the borders falls within the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities, not the political ones.”
In a statement, he clarified that “the file of determining property borders in the Qornat al-Sawda area has been under the responsibility of the judicial authority for three years, and scanning and delineation work is underway, albeit slowly. We sincerely wish we can understand this decision issued by PM Mikati, surpassing all limits of authority.”
As for Bsharri MPs Sethrida Geagea and Melhem Tawk, they issued a joint statement denouncing Mikati’s decision, calling it a flagrant transgression on the concept of separation of state bodies (executive, legislative and judicial) mentioned in the Constitution.
They stated that Mikati’s decision brings the case back to square one, after the progress that was made in the judicial course, hence reaching its final phase after both sides of the conflict presented their documents and maps.
“If PM Mikati’s intentions are to speed up the case after the murder of Malek and Haytham Tawk, then the repercussions of his decision will backfire and have a negative effect. We call on him to retract this decision and replace it with one that would push the Minister of Justice to further push for a judicial ruling,” the statement added.
Finally, in their joint statement, both Geagea and Tawk called on Mikati to further push for a speedy investigation that would bring the culprits to justice.
