Former minister Wiam Wahab renewed his call for Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign during an interview with LBCI television on Friday adding adding any Sunni official can replace him as a premier.
Wahab’s statement follows a report from Damascus published Wednesday by the pro-Syrian newspaper Al Akhbar which revealed that Syria is disappointed with Hariri’s performance, particularly after a series of meetings with Syrian President Bashar Assad over the past year.
According to an unnamed Syrian official “Hariri was always tense in Syria, never felt that Syria is his second home and never opened up to the Syrian leadership. The official concluded that the Assad Hariri honeymoon is over and the Syrian regime thinks “it’s time to replace Hariri.” He added that a series of meetings and consultations have been held in Damascus recently to discuss alternatives.
This is not the first time, that Wahab ( a staunch ally of Hezbollah and Syria) calls on Hariri to resign, but as in the past Wahab is expected to be ignored.
Wahab commented on the issue of “false witnesses,” saying that the ministers who represent President Michel Suleiman and Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt will not vote for transferring the issue to the Judicial Council. He added: “The STL indictment will be based on lies and Hezbollah knows it”
March 8 ministers have been calling for transferring the issue to the Judicial Council, while March 14 ministers want the regular judicial bodies to deal with the issue.
On August 18, the cabinet asked Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar to submit a report on the issue of witnesses who reportedly gave false testimonies to the international investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
“Unlike Syria, in Lebanon we have a parliament that decides who should be the prime minister . Since Hariri represents the parliament majority , the premier position is his as long as he wants it , regardless of the alternatives Assad may have in mind” , a political observer told Ya Libnan.
On Thursday Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea commented regarding Syrian call for changing Lebanese premier by saying:
“There is no replacement for Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the country’s premier,” adding that such an issue is strictly a Lebanese affair.
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