11 Ministers of Lebanese Government resigns, Hariri's Govt Constitutionally resigned

11 Ministers of Lebanese Government resigns, Hariri’s Govt Constitutionally resigned

12 January, 2011 16:03

11 Ministers of Lebanese Government resigns, Hariri’s Govt Constitutionally resigned

He Lebanese cabinet was declared on Wednesday as a resigned government after the ten opposition ministers as well as State Minister Adnan Sayyed Hussein declared withdrawal from it.The Lebanese national opposition announced first it was resigning from the government headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri,Â holding Hariri’s bloc and its allies responsibility for failure of the Saudi-Syrian efforts to resolve the Â Lebanese crisis.

The announcement was made by Energy Minister Gebran Bassil in a press conference he held at the residence of the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun. The conference was also attended by Bassilâ€™s nine resigning colleagues Ministers Mohamad Fneish and Hussein Hajj Hasan (Hezbollah), Mohamad Jawad Khalife, Ali Shami and Ali Abduallah (AMAL), Charbel Nahhas and Fadi Abboud (Free Patriotic Movement), Abraham Dadayan (Tashnaq) and Youssef Saade (Marada).

The opposition ministers thanked in their statement Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and Syrian President Bashar Assad for the efforts they have played to resolve the Lebanese crisis caused by the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. They regretted, however, how some parties have missed the opportunities to prevent attempts to destabilize Lebanese and to protect it against sedition schemes.

The opposition ministers went on to announce their resignation from the government, justifying their decision by pointing to the outcome of the failure of the exerted efforts to resolve the crisis due to the other blocâ€™s surrender to the foreign pressures, mainly American, ignoring therefore the wishes and advises of both the Syrian and Saudi sides. â€œDespite the openness we have always expressed to solutions, the other bloc insisted in its strategy of obstructing, depriving the government from assuming its duties according to constitutional norms, also obstructing the work of the ministries,â€ the statement read.

â€œAfter a last bid to resolve matters through our call for an immediate cabinet session and its rejection by the other bloc, and in order to pave the way for the formation of a new government that would be able to assume its duties in the upcoming stage, we announce our resignation from the government,â€ the statement concluded, urging President Michel Sleiman to speed up the procedures that should be taken to form a new cabinet.

Answering questions, Minister Bassil stressed that the oppositionâ€™s decision is constitutional and legal. â€œWe are making room for a new government in order for it to perform its duties,â€ he stressed. â€œWe have taken our choice through adhering to the institutions.â€

â€œThe prime minister is faced with choosing either Beirut and Washington or Beirut and any other capital,â€ Bassil said, answering another question