Hasan LakkisHussein Dakroub
BEIRUT: The Cabinet is expected this week to fail to appoint a new Army chief of staff due to a lack of consensus among ministers, prompting Defense Minister Samir Moqbel to extend the incumbent’s mandate for two years, ministerial sources said Sunday.
However, the expected extension of Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Walid Salman’s term will spark opposition by the Free Patriotic Movement’s ministers and street protests by the group’s supporters.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri will travel to Egypt Thursday to take part in the launch of a second Suez Canal after Egyptian president extended an invitation to Lebanon’s two top officials.
Salam has called for a Cabinet session Wednesday devoted to resuming discussions on the decision-making system, an issue that is threatening to throw the government into paralysis.
Moqbel is expected to propose from outside the Cabinet agenda the appointment of a new Army chief of staff, replacing Salman who retires on Aug. 7, by presenting the names of three senior military officers, the sources said. However, none of the proposed names will win a majority of the ministers’ votes required for the appointment of a new military chief of staff, the sources said.
This will prompt Moqbel to issue a decree postponing Salman’s retirement for two years as happened in the case of appointing a new Internal Security Forces chief, they added.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk in June postponed the retirement of ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous for two years after his proposal for appointing a new ISF director general failed to win a majority of votes.
Parliamentary sources in the FPM headed by MP Michel Aoun said if Salman’s term was extended for two years, the FPM has many legal choices to protest this measure. The sources refused to confirm whether the planned protests would include the closure of roads and streets.
Ministerial sources said the FPM’s two ministers, backed by ministers of Hezbollah and the Tashnag Party, are expected to propose during the Cabinet session the appointment of six members of the Military Council, arguing that decisions taken by the council are illegal because its serving members are incomplete.
The six-member council is comprised of the Army commander, chief of staff, secretary of the Higher Defense Council, general director of administration, general inspector and another high-ranking officer. The last three posts, reserved for a Shiite, Greek Orthodox and Catholic, have been vacant for the past two years, which has stripped the council of its mandated five-member quorum.
Among other tasks, the council approves the specifications of supplies, weapons, equipment, ammunition, military hardware and vehicles proposed by the Army commander.
The extension of the military chief of staff’s term will set the stage for the extension of Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi’s mandate in September.
Aoun, who strongly opposes extending the terms of military and security chiefs, is lobbying for his son-in-law, Brig. Gen. Shamel Roukoz, head of the Army Commando Unit, to be appointed as Army commander.Brig. Edmond Fadel is expected to retain his post as Army Intelligence chief, ministerial sources said. Fadel, who retires on Sept. 20, will be recalled for duty as a reserve officer due to a lack of consensus among ministers over naming a new Army Intelligence chief, the sources said.
Ministerial sources in the FPM said Hezbollah supports the FPM’s stance on the issue of security and military appointments. Backed by Hezbollah, the FPM insists the government must approve the security appointments, arguing that Moqbel’s postponement of their retirement is a violation of the law.
In addition to the thorny issue of security and military appointments, the Cabinet has been stalled by a dispute over a mechanism to make decisions and exercise executive powers without a president. Salam last week reportedly said he would consider resigning if disruption of the Cabinet’s work continued.
The FPM’s two ministers, backed by allied ministers of Hezbollah, the Marada Movement and the Tashnag Party, have been pushing for a formula that would prevent the Cabinet from passing any decrees without unanimous support. Salam has rejected such a demand, saying it could allow any party to easily hinder the Cabinet’s work.
The FPM has maintained that it should have a say in setting the Cabinet’s agenda, arguing that in the absence of a president, Christian ministers should have the right to exercise some of the president’s powers.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil Sunday reiterated the FPM’s demand for partnership in the country’s decision-making process. “We are demanding partnership within the rules stipulated by the Constitution and based on the sizes [of popular base] and the need to represent these sizes in constitutional events,” Bassil said during a tour of the northern Koura district.
“We have demanded a law to ensure equality [in power-sharing] and the need to form governments according to constitutional rules and also in the issue of of the presidency. But we were met with rejection,” he said.
Rejecting March 14 accusations that the FPM’s ministers are obstructing the government’s work, Bassil said: “It is our duty to criticize when the law is violated. We are not obstructing [the government’s work] but are standing in the face of violations. We will not keep silent. We are pressing forward to work and reach results.” He added that there was still a chance for Salam and his allies to make the government productive.
Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad urged the Cabinet to approve the security appointments during its session this week.
Speaking during a memorial ceremony in Blida, Fayyad stressed the need to uphold the current mechanism to govern the Cabinet’s decisions. “The Cabinet should act on the [security] appointments because there is nothing that can prevent them,” he said. “There is a dire need to maintain the minimum in administering the state. Or else, the downward path in which institutions are heading will push the country to a new situation beyond expectations.”