Cabinet Agrees to Limit Telecom Data Geographically during Heated Session
The cabinet agreed on Monday to hand over the so-called telecom data to security agencies but only within a limited geographic location and after the approval of a three-member expert judicial committee.
The deal was reached after a heated debate between the March 8 coalition ministers of the Change and Reform bloc, Hizbullah and Amal, and the government’s centrists - President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati and ministers loyal to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.
While the March 8 ministers did not reject to hand the security apparatuses the data, they conditioned the move to law 140 pertaining to wiretapping, which was issued in 1999.
They also rejected to give the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) except for certain areas as called for by the law.
Furthermore, the cabinet formed a committee headed by Miqati to look into the demands of the security bodies.
Monday’s decision was aimed at shrugging off criticism by the March 14 coalition that the failure to provide the data is tantamount to participation in any crime or assassination attempt against Lebanese officials.
The attempted murder of March 14 MP Butros Harb last week sparked new demands to reveal the data to the agencies investigating the plot to avoid similar plans in the future.
During the session, Suleiman told the ministers that it was important to provide security bodies with the necessary data to ward off suspicion.
If any assassination plot succeeds, then withholding the data would be seen as a reason for the crime’s success, media reports quoted the president as saying.
Miqati agreed with Suleiman, saying the government should not be held responsible for the death of any Lebanese.
Ministers Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abou Faour, who are loyal to centrist Jumblat, also defended the right of security apparatuses to review the telecom data.
“The (ISF) Intelligence Branch has been able to reveal spy networks, spies, crimes, robberies and bombings due to the data,” Aridi said.
But Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui, who is from the Change and Reform bloc, snapped back, saying he has met with officials from the army and general security and coordinated with them.
Abou Faour cut his sentence short by saying: “You are a member of the cabinet and should treat all security agencies equally.”
However, the dispute was resolved after agreement was reached to appease both sides.
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