Culture Minister Gaby Layyoun questions March 14 group’s response to General Michel Aoun’s speech. He clarifies to Al-Manar website that the new majority will put an end to Hariri’s ruling approach.

Culture Minister Gaby Layyoun to Al-Manar Website:
We Want to End Hariri’s Political Approach, Not His Person
Opposition Seeking to Discharge Corruptors for No Reason
We Don’t Understand Why Aoun’s Stance Scared Them
Cabinet Will Not Resort to Revenge, Reprisal in Practice
Corruptors’ Fate is Prison… Reform is Our Party’s Doctrine
Drafting of Ministerial Statement Ongoing… Precision Is Base

Culture Minister in the new Lebanese government Gaby Layyoun said that decline in the level of political discourse reflects an attempt by the opposition to discharge corruptors. He considered it strange how the latest speech made by the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun about corruptors ending in jail scared them to this extent.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, Minister Layyoun reiterated that the new government will not adopt spiteful and vengeful practices. However, he said that corruptors’ fate would be prison, and that MP Aoun did not call for a physical end to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, but for an end to his political ruling approach.

While finding strange some states’ negative stances on the Lebanese government before the completion of its policy statement, Layyoun said that the process of drafting the ministerial statement was ongoing. He said that the initial directions require remaining away from creative language and resorting to precision in dealing with the various issues.

WE DON’T UNDESTAND WHY THEY ARE SCARED

The Free Patriotic Movement minister rejected the comments made by March 14 officials in response to head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun’s stances on Tuesday, following his bloc’s weekly meeting.

“They didn’t appreciate our ‘one way ticket’ joke. A new ward is being prepared for them in Roumieh prison and they will be granted a ‘one way in’ ticket for it,” Aoun has said. “Their greed had affected their sense of humor,” he added.

Following Aoun’s comments, the so-called March 14 general-secretariat held President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati responsible for what it called Aoun’s illness. “Every statement made by MP Michel Aoun confirms the revolutionary nature of the cabinet,” it claimed.
Earlier, a statement released by the press office of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri claimed that the only people whose fate will be in prison are those who murdered former PM Rafiq Hariri and those who protect these murderers.

Layyoun pointed out the decline in the level of political discourse reflected by these comments. Yet, he found strange the regular retrospect of former PM Rafiq Hariri, in attempt to discharge corruptors. He said that he did not understand why they were scared to this extent from Aoun’s speech about corruptors ending in jail, and wondered whether they had any link with corruption, “given that we have said many times that we will not adopt spiteful and revengeful practices, as they claimed.”

“One-Way Ticket” Logic: A Joke!

Asked about Aoun’s statements and what he intended to say, Layyoun said that the logic of the “one-way ticket” stance was not to physically end Hariri, as some politicians sought to claim. “Aoun wanted to say that the new majority is putting an end to Hariri’s ruling approach, nothing more,” he stressed. “After all, it was a joke that should not be met with such negative reactions,” he went on saying.

He raised question marks about the background of such stances, as he confirmed that corruptors would only end in jail. “We are a reformist party and we’ll work to fix our approach, God willing. Corruptors will go to prison. Our doctrine is reform and we will remain committed to change and reform.”

Asked about Hariri’s emphasis on international justice and the need to hold killers and those who protect them accountable, Layyoun called for ending the exploitation of the martyrs’ blood. “If they had any proof to their claims, let them help us and present it to justice,” he added.

Things Are Going Easy…

Asked about the international pressure facing the new government, already accused of being a confrontation government, Layyoun said that such a relation between states is strange and condemned. He wondered how a state could take a position from another state’s government before the finalization of its policy statement. “If the issue was only related to individuals, not policies, then this is abnormal,” he pointed out.

Answering another question, Layyoun stressed that the process of drafting the policy statement was ongoing. He said that members of the drafting committee, formed by the cabinet, should have presented their ambitions, “and hopefully, things are going easy.”

While he neither confirmed nor denied the press reports about possibly completing the policy statement within 48 hours, he said that basically, the ministers will not resort to creative language and they will be precise in dealing with the various issues under discussion.

CULTURE… LEBANON’S CHARACTERISTIC

To conclude, the culture minister spoke about his own portfolio. He denied the presence of any priorities, as he stressed that all cultural issues were important. He noted that he was still recognizing the abilities of the ministry and its assets. Yet, he said that he had many goals in mind, including preserving heritage buildings, heritage, as well as the francophone; enhancing the role of arts, creativity, the national library, and libraries in all regions, in addition to other aims and goals.

He stressed the necessity of giving heed and enhancing culture, indicating that it is Lebanon’s characteristic. “Through culture, we liberate our youth from the society’s many epidemics,” he concluded.