Saniora Says FM's Arab League Stance on Syria 'Unconstitutional'
Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora slammed on Friday Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour for “violating the constitution” in calling the Arab League to scrap a decision to suspend Syria's membership without coordinating with the president and the prime minister.
Saniora expressed “surprise” at Mansour's call during the Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, saying he neglected the stance of President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati “in a totally unconstitutional way.”
His call “is a clear violation of the Lebanese government's policy of steering the country away” from the region's crises, and of the Baabda Declaration, he said.
Saniora also rejected Mansour's claim that he was expressing his personal point of view.
“It is unacceptable for a foreign minister to express his personal viewpoints at any Arab or international forum,” al-Mustaqbal bloc chief stressed. “He should be fully committed to the (government's) policy” and not to overstep the authorities of the cabinet and its prime minister.
Mansour, who is close to Hizbullah, called on Wednesday for the "return of the Syrian government to its seat at the Arab League after Arab states failed to resolve the Syrian crisis."
The League, which suspended Syria in November 2011, said at the time the suspension would apply until President Bashar Assad implemented an Arab deal to end violence against protesters.
A year later, the League recognized the Syrian National Coalition headed by Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib as the "legitimate representative and main interlocutor with the Arab League."
“It would have been better for the parties that asked the minister to behave that way to be prudent because Lebanon's ties with the Arab countries have reached a sensitive stage over such policies and the stances of these parties,” Saniora said in reference to Hizbullah.
He added that the Lebanese have had enough “suffering from the damages” caused by several members of the cabinet who contradict the government's policy of distancing Lebanon from the region's crisis, mainly the turmoil in Syria.
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