Samy Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb party, declared on Wednesday that “the only solution to avoid a vacancy at the head of the military institution is to postpone the date of the army commander’s retirement.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Gemayel discussed the term of office of the army’s commander-in-chief, Joseph Aoun, which expires on January 10.
He considered that in the absence of a president of the republic, “all other alternatives are contrary to the Constitution,” noting that “the competent authority to decide this question in a ‘constitutional’ and ‘rapid’ manner is the Council of Ministers.”
“In the event that the Minister of Defense is reluctant to endorse the extension, the Cabinet can carry out this task,” he added.
Gemayel warned that “a void in the Army’s leadership will be a major catastrophe,” adding, “We’ll do everything possible to avoid this coup, but if the void happens, we move to other options, and all possibilities are open.”
The Kataeb leader hoped that the extension of the army commander’s mandate would be approved at the cabinet session on Friday.
The Kataeb leader assured that the party shares the principle of safeguarding the Army with all opposition forces, as well as the Maronite patriarchate and all national authorities working to protect the country.
“We will follow future developments and do our utmost to avoid the destructive vacancy, whose objective is to carry out a coup d’état,” he concluded.
The Council of Ministers is scheduled to meet on Friday, at the request of Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to decide (or not) whether or not to extend General Joseph Aoun’s term of office.
