Salam Says he Called Cabinet Meet for Being Unable to Wait

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has said that he called for a cabinet session next Thursday because he could no longer wait for the rival political parties to resolve their disputes.

Salam was quoted as saying by his visitors “I could no longer wait.”

The PM invited the cabinet to convene, saying the agenda would be carried over from the last time the government met on June 4.

The controversial issue of security and military appointments is not on the agenda of the session, Salam, whose remarks were published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Tuesday, said.

The premier suspended sessions earlier this month when Free Patriotic Movement ministers warned that they would boycott any session whose agenda is not topped with the appointments of the high-ranking officials.

Al-Akhbar daily quoted the PM as saying that “the interests of people need to be addressed.”

He also revealed that he is “aware FPM ministers could boycott Thursday's session, which could be the last before the (Eid al-Fitr) holidays, but things can no longer be left the way they are.”

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, who is an FPM member, reiterated, however, that the party's representatives will attend any session that Salam calls for.

“But because we are not able to impose on any side the military and security appointments, the other party cannot impose on us any other clause,” he told al-Joumhouria daily.

“The solution should come through understanding and consensus among the different factions that make up the cabinet,” said Bou Saab.

A ministerial source told al-Akhbar that Salam had the blessing of Speaker Nabih Berri when he called for the session.

His invitation is aimed at pressuring all sides to reach a solution by the end of the holy month of Ramadan and to revive the work of the government, said the source.

The two leaders met over the weekend.

G.K.

D.A.