Miqati Supports Army-UNIFIL Ties, Says Wage Boost Maximum Possible in Current Circumstances

Premier Najib Miqati stressed on Saturday that the government was determined to back the cooperation between the Lebanese army and the U.N. peacekeepers despite the attack on a UNIFIL patrol that left 5 French troops injured.

“We are determined to support the cooperation between the army and UNIFIL to carry out its mission,” Miqati said at the opening of the 31st round of the Council of Arab Social Affairs Ministers at the Movenpick hotel in Beirut.

“We have asked the security forces to speed up their investigation to find the culprits,” he added.

Five French troops were injured in a roadside bombing in Tyre on Friday, the third such attack on peacekeepers this year.

About a decision to raise salaries of public and private sector employees, the PM said: “The cabinet’s approval of the wage boost is the maximum that the government could do amid the economic and financial circumstances that the country is going through.”

“We are aware that the decision does not meet the ambitions of the workers and does not satisfy our objective in guaranteeing a dignified life for the Lebanese but the reality forces us not to take steps that would have negative effects on employees,” he added.

The General Labor Confederation has rejected the cabinet’s decision and its council will meet on Monday to decide on the date of a strike and other protests across the country.

Miqati stressed that the government’s commitment to social issues comes along with the protection of national consensus.

“The state has realized the importance of the implementation of international resolutions, mainly 1701, which Israel continues to violate,” he said. “This won’t stop Lebanon from holding onto its right to liberate its land.”