Hussein DakroubHasan Lakkis| The Daily Star

BEIRUT: MP Michel Aoun mobilized his supporters in Beirut’s streets Wednesday in the first move of stepped-up pressure on the government to protest the extension of the top Army officers’ terms and the alleged marginalization of Christian rights.

Hundreds of Free Patriotic Movement supporters, waving the party’s orange flags, flooded into Martyrs’ Square in Downtown Beirut where they were addressed by FPM’s ministers and lawmakers.

The protests came on the eve of a crucial Cabinet session likely to be dominated by new tension over the extension of senior Army officers’ mandates.

The FPM’s two ministers have insisted that the Cabinet should first discuss the decision-making mechanism and security and military appointments before moving to other items on the agenda.

Reflecting the tension within the Cabinet, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil told the crowd assembled in Downtown Beirut: “Today, we are struggling like the FPM youth. Tomorrow, we will struggle inside the Cabinet. The country is ours and we will stay in it.”

Dressed in casual clothing with an orange scarf around his neck, Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law, said: “By taking to the street, the FPM supporters are demanding the Christians’ rights, which concern all the Lebanese in general because water, electricity, oil and garbage are issues that concern all the Lebanese without exceptions.”

Bassil, speaking to the National News Agency, said: “The presidency is the right of Christians and the Free Patriotic Movement has the biggest share in Parliament.”

Speaking to The Daily Star, Bassil said: “We are claiming the rights of the Lebanese and want a better living for them, and we say out loud that we are also claiming the rights of the Christian Lebanese.”

Parliamentary sources in the FPM said that Bassil’s tough remarks indicated that Aoun has taken a decision to begin a battle against the government in the street Wednesday and within the Cabinet Thursday.

The sources ruled out any demonstrations or rallies by the FPM supporters Thursday pending the outcome of the Cabinet session.

The FPM’s ministers will demand that the Cabinet discuss only two topics: the security appointments and rejection of Defense Minister Samir Moqbel’s decision to postpone the retirement of the top Army brass, the sources said.According to the sources, the door for a package deal that would allow the return of Parliament legislation, an agreement on the Cabinet’s decision-making system and the approval of a draft law to raise the retirement ages of senior Army officers has not been closed yet, even though reaching such a deal is still difficult.

The sources cautioned that such a deal is the only solution to halt the country’s slide toward a bigger crisis that would lead to paralyzing the government’s work.

Convoys of FPM supporters began gathering in the afternoon at the party’s offices in various areas before they all met on Martyrs’ Square and were joined by the FPM’s ministers and lawmakers.

Some convoys blocked the Beirut-Tripoli highway in Jal al-Dib, just north of Beirut, and Chekka, in north Lebanon.

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, who joined the protesters, said the decision to extend the terms of the military officers was illegal. “The extension did not happen, and Moqbel’s move was illegal,” he told reporters.

“Today, we are sure of what we want. Even some of our political rivals know that our demands are rightful but refuse to cooperate. This government will not work without cooperation among all its factions,” Bou Saab said, adding that the FPM’s protests will go on until its demands are met.

Aoun and Prime Minister Tammam Salam have been at loggerheads for months over many issues in the government, including the FPM’s demand for the appointment of new security and military chiefs and a mechanism to govern the Cabinet’s decision-making process in the absence of the president.

Aoun Tuesday called on his supporters to take to the streets Wednesday to protest what he says is the government’s marginalization of Christian rights and violations of the Constitution exemplified by the extension of the terms of security officers.

Moqbel last week extended the terms of Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi, military Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair, the secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council, by one year each, despite fierce opposition from Aoun.

Aoun has been pressing the government to appoint new military and security chiefs. He was also lobbying for his son-in-law Brig. Gen. Shamel Roukoz, the head of the Army Commando Unit, to be appointed Army commander.

Meanwhile, Parliament Wednesday failed in 27 consecutive sessions since April last year to elect a president due to a lack of quorum, prompting Speaker Nabih Berri to schedule a new session on Sept. 2.

Only 34 MPs showed up in Parliament, well below the two-third quorum (86) of the legislature’s 128 members required to convene the session. This was the lowest number of attending lawmakers, reflecting the MPs’ apathy over the presidential election deadlock.

Lawmakers from Aoun’s bloc, Hezbollah’s bloc and its March 8 allies have been blamed for thwarting a quorum by consistently boycotting parliamentary sessions. The 14-month presidential impasse has paralyzed Parliament legislation and is threatening to cripple the government’s work.