Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired on Thursday a ministerial session dedicated solely to the issue of Military School admissions.
The Cabinet approved Defense Minister Maurice Slim’s recent proposal to hold a new competition to enroll 82 students at the Military School. They would join the 118 candidates selected by Army Commander-in-Chief Joseph Aoun in August 2023, bringing the total number of students to 200.
According to the decree, the examination is to be conducted promptly, with the aim of finalizing enrollment by the end of October.
The 82 successful candidates will be assigned to different military and security institutions as follows: 50 to the Army, 20 to the Internal Security Forces (ISF), 6 to General Security, 4 to State Security, and 2 to Customs.
This contentious dossier has lingered for a year due to conflicting viewpoints between Slim and General Joseph Aoun. The admission of the 118 candidates was stalled because Slim had refused to ratify the entrance exam results, leading some successful candidates to file legal challenges with the Council of State.
Following the ministerial session on July 9, the Minister of Culture, Mohammad Mortada, intervened as a mediator between the two parties. The stalled dossier was postponed for a week to continue consultations. Mortada successfully brokered a resolution, which was approved in the absence of Slim, who continues to boycott the Cabinet due to the presidential vacancy.
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Controversy
Furthermore, the Minister of Education, Abbas Halabi, objected to the “compromise” approved by the Cabinet, urging Slim to “withdraw his reservations” regarding the appointment of the Chief of Staff and to “collaborate” with Mikati, “now that his request concerning the Military School has been accepted.”
Halabi referred to the principle of reciprocity when mentioning Slim’s opposition to any appointments in the absence of a President of the Republic. However, in February of last year, the Cabinet approved the appointment of General Hassan Audi as the army’s Chief of Staff after he was promoted from the rank of Colonel to General.
Slim had denounced this “new constitutional and legal violation committed by the caretaker Prime Minister, adding to other abuses since the presidential vacancy began in October 2022.” He had also opposed the Cabinet’s approval of the one-year extension of General Joseph Aoun’s mandate in December 2023.
In this context, Halabi urged the Minister of Defense to “implement the Cabinet’s decision by issuing the decree concerning the Chief of Staff,” aiming to “restore the work within the military institution.”
Furthermore, the Minister of Information Ziad Makari, State Minister Najla Riachi, and Cabinet Vice President Saadeh Chami, raised an objection regarding the exclusion of women from admission to the Military School.
Vacancy and Nominations
In five months, the additional year of the Army Commander’s mandate will reach its end. The military institution faces renewed vacancy concerns, a topic revisited during the press briefing following the morning Cabinet session.
“The Defense Law is clear: in case of vacancy, the Chief of Staff assumes the duties of the Commander-in-Chief of the army,” stated Halabi. Makari hoped that a President of the Republic would be elected by then.
The prospect of making official appointments in the absence of a president is contentious within the Cabinet. Introduced by the Minister of Youth and Sports Georges Kallas, it was rejected by several ministers, including Makari and Mortada.
According to the local channel MTV, “a meeting is expected soon between the prime minister and the minister of defense to discuss the chief of staff issue, aiming to resolve it without undermining Slim’s position.”
Mikati’s Speech
In his opening speech at the ministerial session, Mikati affirmed his commitment to addressing any vacancies within official institutions.
Furthermore, he highlighted “the attention the State pays to youth, as they embody the promising future of the country,” and urged young people to “join the State’s military, security, and administrative institutions.”
Furthermore, he reiterated his condemnation of Israeli aggressions, stressing the importance of implementing UN Resolution 1701 and all international resolutions issued by the UN Security Council regarding southern Lebanon.
As for the Syrian displaced persons’ issue, Mikati announced that Director of General Security, Brigadier General Elias Baissari, would be invited to the next ministerial session to update the Cabinet and media on the progress in the implementation of the plan to curb Syrians’ illegal residence. Additionally, he mentioned that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, is scheduled to visit Syria soon to discuss this dossier.
