Both Geagea and former president Amin Gemayel criticized the proposed cabinet line-up
Gemayel’s son MP Sami Gemayel was offered the ministry of Tourism and this was the only ministry offered to the Kataeb party. Gemayel thinks this is too little for such a powerful party as the Kataeb. Sami Gemayel said yesterday he will refuse to serve in such a cabinet
The Lebanese Forces were offered 2 ministries : the ministry of Industry and the Social affairs ministry and Geagea is not happy about this : Geagea according to reliable sources fears that once given the education, labor and public works ministries, Aoun would get the upper hand in universities, schools, trade unions and social security services as well as roads, major projects, urban planning and infrastructure in a way that would allow him to exploit the state's potentials to reinforce his political position among Christians.
Progressive Socialist party leader is not complaining about the line-up but thinks the objections by the opposition are due to the reconciliation problems between Saudi Arabia and Syria. Jumblatt, who refers to this as the SS problem dispatched yesterday his close aid Minister Ghazi Aridi to Jeddah with a message to the Saudi leaders urging them to continue with their reconciliation effort with Syria and to avoid any confrontation. Jumblatt is concerned that Syria is again interfering in the internal Lebanese affairs and is trying to prevent the formation of the cabinet just like it did 2 years ago when it tried to prevent the election of the president of the republic
Both Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Walid Jumblatt are reportedly seeking to avoid a government crisis.
President Suleiman who is independent has reportedly been telling the opposition leaders that Hariri’s proposed cabinet line-up is not set in concrete and urged the opposition to deal with it on the basis that it is subject to discussion and development. The opposition is reportedly planning to bring a list of proposed amendments to the Beiteddine palace , the presidential summer residence .
The president is heading to New York on September 23 to address the UN general assembly on September 25 and wants to resolve the cabinet issue before leaving, but judging from the response to Hariri’s proposal it will be “wishful thinking since both the majority and the opposition are hardening their positions. Many are predicting that Lebanon won’t have a cabinet before year end
Wednesday
9:30 pm Hariri said during an Iftar Wednesday that he will not form a cabinet that does not fairly reflect the outcome of the 2009 parliamentary elections. He also said he will not succumb to “blackmail.” He added that in the coming two or three days, he will take “further steps to serve the nation’s interests.”
8:35pm Future News: PM-designate will visit President Suleiman either tomorrow or the day after to discuss the response to the proposed cabinet line-up
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8:30 Speaker Berri met Minister Ghazi Aridi in Ain el-Tinah.
8:00pm PM-designate Hariri will meet tonight Hezbollah’s Hussein Khalil and Amal’s Hassan Khalil.
7:50pm Jumblatt told Al Manar TV: The Cabinet lineup does not show good signs and discussions with President Suleiman continue.
6:42pm Kenaan accused Hariri of proposing a Cabinet far from the National Unity Consensus and in defiance to the opposition and criticized him "for not respecting the constitutional norms and principles" in forming Cabinet.
5:55 pm AFP: Iranian foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki handed over to the envoys of six world powers on Wednesday, Iran's new package of proposals for its controversial nuclear program
4:45pm Lebanese Forces’ leader Samir Geagea met with caretaker PM Siniora at the Grand Serail.
3:55pm The Opposition delegation left Beiteddine Presidential Palace without making any statement.
3:05pm The opposition delegation arrived in Beiteddine to meet with Suleiman.
2:45pm Soueid after the March 14 general-secretariat meeting: Due to the quick development of events, the general-secretariat will leave its meetings open-ended.
2:20pm MPs following their talks with Berri: The Speaker called for lowering tension and said he was making efforts with Suleiman and Jumblatt to deal with the cabinet crisis.
2:10pm MTV: Following their meeting, March 14 secretariat-general members headed for talks with Hariri on the latest developments on cabinet formation.
1:58pm OTV: Opposition delegation will meet with President Suleiman in Beiteddine at 3:00pm today
1:45pm A hand grenade was found near al-Hadi Minimarket in Ouzai. It was taken to a military base for fingerprints to identity the assailants who threw the grenade.
1 :35pm Torsarkissian from Nejmeh Square : the position of Basil, after meeting Suleiman in Beiteddine was less aggressive than usual and opened the door for further dialogue
1 :27pm Kaouk: What happened was the transfer from Lebanon ‘s railway of reconciliation to another railway and whoever wants to get out of the current impasse has to complete the dialogue with Aoun
1 :15pm Hassan Khalil from Nejmeh Square after meeting with Berri: The dialogue is open with regards to the subject of government formation and there is great opportunity for a breakthrough
1:10pm Zahle MP Fattoush denounced the non-representation of Zahle in the Cabinet lineup. Zahle residents were shocked after their rights were ignored.
1:10 Al Akhbar : MP Walid Jumblatt said the feedback of Minister Wael Abou Faour after meeting with the President indicates that the opposition, or at least part of it, is ready for serious dialogue.
1 :06pm "MTV": Suleiman asked Hariri to exercise prudence in visiting Beiteddine until he obtains the final answer from the opposition with regards the cabinet line-up he presented
1:00 pm Reuters: An ally of Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi has been detained, a reformist website said, in the latest move signalling increased pressure by the authorities on pro-reform foes of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
12:17 Jumblatt after meeting Vice president of the Higher Shiite Council Skeikh Abdel Amir Qabalan called for “patience in order to reach a proper solution since we have all agreed on being partners in a national unity government “
12:02 pm Al-Mustaqbal newspaper : UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel to provide the Lebanese government with immediate compensation for the oil spill that it caused after bombing the Jiyeh power plant in South Lebanon during the 2006 July War.
12:00pm Eid al-Fitr falls on Sunday, September 20th, according to Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah.
11:45 Speaker Nabih Berri arrived at Parliament as part of the weekly Wednesday meetings with MPs.
11:40 AFP : Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the Middle East peace process
11:30 Reuters - Kraft Foods Inc plans to cut its supplier base in half, a move that would affect more than 30000 companies, as the largest North American food maker looks to save more than $300 million a year. Kraft bid yesterday for Cadbury but its bid was rejected.
11:20 AP : Well over half of nearly 1400 Palestinians killed in Israel's Gaza war were civilians, including 252 children younger than 16, a leading Israeli human rights groups said Wednesday.
11:19 Alloush told Al Jumhurriah : the situation is back to zero , the crisis would last much longer and the government will not be formed anytime soon soon since we have reached an impasse
11:00 MP Ahmed Fatfat: Hariri will not take any initiative unless it is in agreement with President Suleiman.
10:40 Israeli Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted on Wednesday Russian reports as saying that the four MiG-31E fighter jets, which Moscow will send to Syria, lack offensive capabilities and are only used for intelligence purposes. Two of the jets “would be operational, and the other two would be used for spare parts, ” since Russia will not provide effective after-sale services.
9;40 As-Safir : Lebanese Armed Forces-Intelligence Branch arrested on Tuesday five Lebanese involved in the Barouk internet station, which allegedly has connections with an Israeli station in Haifa.
8:30 LF official Fadi Saad told VOL: We are willing to accept the Cabinet lineup proposed by PM-designate Saad Hariri as a show of support for Hariri.
07:15 a change and reform MP: Aoun will today through the media launch a fiery response to the government line-up proposed by PM- designate Saad Hariri and which the opposition has rejected
07:05 Christian source in March 14 told al Akhbar: the cabinet line-up proposed by PM- designate Saad Hariri will create a major political crisis within the March 14 alliance
06:55 al Akhbar: The main objective of the visit to Jeddah by Minister Ghazi Aridi, is delivering a message to the Saudi leaders urging them to continue with their reconciliation effort with Syria and to avoid any confrontation
06:45 Jumblatt: the most recent speech of Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "was not convulsive and left a window open for a solution “
06:18 Al Akhbar: Suleiman urged the opposition to deal with the proposal Hariri on the basis that it is subject to discussion and development
06:10 Geagea sources: If we stop and think about the crisis that Lebanon is going through, perhaps we will then have a totally different position
06:00 Hariri circles: If the answers of the opposition are negative with regards to the cabinet line-up then all options become possible including the quitting by the PM designate
05:49 "As Safir ": the opposition has indicated that any change in the political formula will make it stick to its original demand of a blocking one third and reject the 15 +10 +5 formula
05:35 sources of "As Safir ": Saudi Arabia has advised the Lebanese to take it easy and subject themselves to deadlines and conditions
Tuesday
11:57pm Hariri hosted an Iftar in honor of the French Ambassador to Lebanon
11:46pm Houry: Free Patriotic Movement, knoew in advance that the portfolios they will be given
10:50pm Majdalani: For the first time in Lebanon the government is being formed according to the Lebanese constitution
10:33pm Minister Aridi returned from Saudi Arabia on a private jet
9:25pm Jumblatt reconfirmed during an interview in Ain Zhalta that he is still part of the majority and an ally of Hariri
8:26pm MP George Adwan told "MTV:" We paid dearly to prevent the resettlement of the Palestinians and we all know that Lebanon has a special composition that is opposed to the naturalization ( of Palestinians ) and this issue does not affect the Christians only
8:18pm Alain Aoun of "or TV": the essence of the problem has not been solved and we seem to be heading for more obstructions. A government of national unity cannot be formed through the logic of challenge
08:04pm Williams : I am confident that the president is looking seriously at the cabinet line up presented by Hariri
7:40 pm Al-Manar: the opposition will hold a meeting on Tuesday night at the residence of Hajj Hussein Khalil, Political Adviser to Hezbollah's Secretary General
7:35 pm Jumblatt refuted a report published in Tuesday’s As-Safir newspaper stating that Jumblatt was willing exchange with FMP the Telecommunications Mini
