Beirut: Lebanon continues to suffer on all fronts as tons of discarded garbage is painstakingly collected from overwhelmed neighborhoods where the stench is suffocating. In the absence of a political solution over the hugely controversial decision-making mechanism that, presumably, was settled two years ago, and in light of several calls made by foreign leaders, Prime Minister Tammam Salam postponed a cabinet session set to deal with the country’s “garbage” on Tuesday, chiefly to avoid a fresh confrontation and possibly lead to his resignation.
According to well-placed officials who spoke to Gulf News, high-level consultations occurred during over the weekend to avoid a further confrontation that would prove debilitating, now that all sides realized the futility of their hasty decisions. Salam wants to address routine matters at a time when no agreements exist among elites on the election of a head of state or on security appointments, whereas opposition forces, led by Hezbollah and its Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) acolytes desire to usher in a new constitutional arrangement.
At this point, few anticipate progress, with the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, and Progressive Socialist Party chief, Walid Junblatt, playing the compromise fiddle. All claim that their goals are genuine consultations to be carried out by different parties, to pave the way for a new agreement at the cabinet level. Inasmuch as the difficulty arose from rigid demands made by the FPM, with full Hezbollah backing, chances were small that such an outcome would occur anytime soon.
As a case in point, and according to the well-connected Al Nahar daily, Defense Minister Samir Moqbel visited General Michel Aoun on Monday with an offer to promote his son-in-law in the military institution that, apparently was rejected. Moqbel suggested to Aoun that Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, whose tenure ends in October, be promoted, infuriating the father-in-law who declared: “How would we accept the violation of the law and the constitution?” It was unclear why the offer was turned down since the alternative was retirement, unless Roukoz was appointed Commander of the Army, usually a presidential selection but, during the vacancy, necessitating a unanimous government decision that was not available. Aoun wants Roukoz to become army chief to replace Gen. Jean Qahwaji whose term ends in September and insists that all extensions are illegal.
Whether the prime minister will eventually resign and preside over a caretaker government, instead of hanging on to a dysfunctional cabinet was difficult to tell, although his patience was running short in the midst of so many who cavalierly abscond his constitutional prerogatives. For now, what preoccupied residents was the unending garbage crisis, which erupted when the Naameh landfill was closed on July 17. Anti-trash activists organized around a new “You Stink” protest group that spread near Government House in Downtown Beirut. They are demanding the resignation of Minister of the Environment Mohammad Al Mashnouq.
