The Cabinet meeting held at the Grand Serail on Tuesday ended without any appointments being made to the Military Council. On the other hand, the 19 ministers present approved the law passed by Parliament on Friday, delaying the retirement of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun. This law will become effective once it has been published in the Official Gazette.
At the start of the session, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati informed the ministers of a note he had sent on Monday to the caretaker Minister of Defense, Maurice Slim, in which he asked him to submit proposals for appointments to vacant positions in the Military Council.
According to MTV channel, one of the ministers had suggested that Mikati contact Slim. The Prime Minister then responded that “the premiership is not a scapegoat,” explaining that he would be confining his relationship with Slim “to the formal level, through correspondence” after the latest incident between them. “Since Slim raised his voice in the Serail, I’ve considered it over for me,” said Mikati.
In turn, the caretaker Minister of Defense told MTV that he had indeed replied to the Prime Minister’s note at 9 AM on Tuesday, having received it on Monday afternoon. In his letter, he indicated that he was willing to cooperate in resolving the issue of the Military Council but was waiting for the “finalization” of the prorogation law passed in Parliament.
He was probably referring to the fate of the law following the submission of an invalidation appeal to the Constitutional Council by the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which its leader Gebran Bassil had threatened to submit.
In this context, Mikati hailed Parliament, which he said had “confirmed legislative stability” by voting, on Friday December 15, in favor of the bill to postpone by one year the retirement of officers of the rank of general and major general.
He emphasized that “recourse to the working spirit of institutions is the only way to save the country from instability and one-upmanship.” “Legislative stability is reflected in the situation in the country,” he added, referring to the measures taken concerning “the army and security forces, in addition to legislation linked to the people’s affairs and the regular functioning of the State.”
In this context, Mikati stressed “the need to speed up the election of a president and complete the composition of constitutional institutions.” According to him, “Parliament should continue to legislate and the government should continue taking action,” expressing his wish for “Lebanon to soon have a president.”
With regard to the rights of civil servants and military personnel, Mikati assured that the government is committed to “granting them equitable rights all while taking into account the reality of the Treasury and public finances,” indicating that follow-up on this issue “is ongoing, until we reach a fair solution for all.”
At the end of the meeting, caretaker Minister of Information Ziad Makari declared that the Council of Ministers had approved the 14 laws passed by Parliament. He indicated that another ministerial meeting could be held before the end of the year if the Minister of Defense were to propose candidates for the vacant positions in the Military Council.
For his part, caretaker Minister of Telecommunications Johnny Corm said it is “still too early to appoint a Chief of Staff.”
