MP Aswad declared that the meeting, which joined Miqati and Aoun on the sidelines of the parliamentary legislative session, broke the ice between the two men but didn’t reach the level of achieving a final understanding.

MP Ziad Aswad to Al-Manar Website:
Hariri’s Lack of Responsibility Signals Intention to Create Chaos
Miqati-Aoun Meeting Broke Ice… To Be Completed with President
Listening to Foreign Interference Contributes in Undermining State
New Majority Should Re-evaluate Situation in order to Achieve Goals
Obstructing Parliament through Interpreting Constitution Unjustified

Member of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc in Lebanon MP Ziad Aswad declared that the meeting, which joined Prime Minister-Designate Najib Miqati and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on the sidelines of the parliamentary legislative session, broke the ice between the two men but didn’t reach the level of achieving a final understanding. He stressed that this meeting should be completed in light of Miqati’s contacts with President Michel Sleiman.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar website, Aswad expressed belief that the reasons behind the delay in the cabinet formation process were not purely internal. He spoke in this context of obvious foreign interferences, and said that “whoever listens to such pressure contributes in undermining the state’s principle.”

Aswad held the head of the caretaker government Saad Hariri direct responsibility of the current crisis and expressed belief that “his complete absence does not only reflect his lack of responsibility but also signals his intention to create chaos in the country.” He also found strange the attempts to create different interpretations and explanations of the Constitution, in light of the debate over the constitutional nature of the parliamentary session which was not held as expected due to lack of quorum.

DOUBLE STANDARDS… AND CONSTITUTION INTERPRETATIONS!
MP Ziad Aswad told Al-Manar website that “a quorum requires the presence of half of the parliament’s 128-members, plus one, or 65 MPs” which was not secured. The session was aimed to discuss a number of draft laws.

Aswad criticized the double standards of some politicians and regretted that some blocs gave different interpretations for the constitution with the aim to obstruct holding the session. He found strange how the party which accepted a similar session under the same circumstances in 2005 could reject a legislative session aimed at observing the people’s interests amid governmental void. He was referring to the 2005 legislative session during which Lebanese Forces Chief Samir Geagea was given a pardon, paving the way for his release from prison.

Aswad said that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was evident in the press conference he held at the Parliament and pointed to the fact that all draft laws, which were expected to be discussed during the session, were previously discussed and adopted by parliamentary committees, including lawmakers representing all political blocs. He went on to say that preventing the Parliament from assuming its basic duties was unjustified.

Aswad did not see the calls by some lawmakers to limit the parliamentary session’s agenda to only one item as justified, in reference to the extending the term of Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh. He said that “this call proves the double standards of some politicians,” and emphasized that attending the session, regardless of the agenda and its size, was in itself an acknowledgement of its constitutionality.

DID WE ENTER NEW MAJORITY THROUGH APPROACH?
MP Aswad said that “political division leads to more obstruction.” “The caretaker government is inoperative. The state’s institutions are broken. The President’s role is also suspended, in relation to his powers and his inability to offer any initiative. What’s happening today is nothing but another obstruction form, led by the same political group,” he added.

Asked about the inability of the new majority to guarantee quorum, Aswad stressed the need to reconsider the whole alliance. “Did we really have a new political majority when we toppled the government of Saad Hariri? Is there really an intention to thwart the Hariri political method or not?” he asked all the constituents of the new majority who named Najib Miqati to form the new government.

According to MP Aswad, a reevaluation process should take place to specify whether the new majority was going towards achieving its announced goals. He warned that the current split actually reflected the fall of the state and institutions’ principles and aimed at pushing the new majority towards failure.

He recalled that the new majority’s approach should be built on main principles including the unjust Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the conspiracy against the Resistance and the principle of destroying the state’s institutions. “The constituents of the new majority should reconsider their cohesion at this level. Otherwise, they will only be an incomplete majority.”

AOUN-MIQATI MEETING BROKE THE ICE
Turning to the cabinet formation process, Aswad pointed out to the meeting that joined the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-Designate Najib Miqati on the  one hand and the meeting that joined the two men with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the head of the Marada movement leader MP Sleiman Franjieh, the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohamad Raad, the head of the Syrian Socialist National Party MP Assaad Hardan and the head of the Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Erslan. The MP called not to haste in taking the final stance vis-a-vis the meetings and their repercussions.

Aswad stressed the positive atmosphere, which prevailed following the two meetings, should be completed in light of the premier-designate expected talks with President Michel Sleiman. He said the meeting between Aoun and Miqati broke the ice, but noted it was not the end, as Miqati should continue the negotiations with President Sleiman, so that the Lebanese public opinion could perceive who’s facilitating the cabinet formation and who’s not.

Asked about the real reasons behind the current delay, the Change and Reform lawmaker expressed belief the crisis was not purely internal. He spoke in this regard of foreign interferences in light of the recent activities of embassies and foreign officials, which contradict all diplomatic norms and undermine the state’s sovereignty. Aswad noted, however, that “whoever listens to external pressure contributes in toppling the state’s concept.”

HARIRI SEEKING TO CREATE CHAOS IN COUNTRY
The Change and Reform MP said that such a critical stage requires providing the security systems with the ability to act, noting that their activity must be covered and that the caretaker government to assume its responsibilities and duties. He spoke in this context of a direct responsibility on the shoulders of the caretaker PM Saad Hariri, and said that “the latter’s continuous absence from the internal scene does not only reflect a lack of responsibility but also signals an intention to create chaos in the country.”

Aswad said that Hariri’s lack of responsibility was neither spontaneous nor a coincidence. “It is rather intentional with the aim to create chaos in the country,” he added. “Hariri is directly responsible for the current crisis. I cannot imagine that there’s a caretaker government leader in the world who’s completely absent like Hariri,” he concluded.