Cabinet session to discuss ‘false witnesses’ postponed

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Wednesday’s cabinet session has been postponed due to a change in the schedule of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s official visit to the UK , according to local reports.

The change in Hariri’s schedule means that he will not be able to attend the previously scheduled Wednesday session, which has been postponed till he returns.

Hariri is in London on his first official visit to the UK as PM.

The cabinet was expected to discuss the issue of “false witnesses” . March 8 politicians have called for the cabinet to refer the issue to the Judicial Council but March 14 politicians want this matter to be handled by the regular judicial authorities

Reaction to the postponement

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday rejected holding the national dialogue session Thursday if the Wednesday cabinet meeting is postponed.

“I will not sit at the national dialogue with any counterfeiter or anyone who protects a false witness,” he said during a press conference following the meeting of his Change and Reform bloc.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri keeps traveling while “we want to set a day for the cabinet session,” Aoun added, referring the PM’s official visit to the UK

Aoun reiterated his call for referring the issue of “false witnesses” to the Judicial Council .

Today, Premier Saad Hariri has become a dictator, because all state authorities are under his control, Aoun said adding “there will be a change”

“Is it permissible for those who grant immunity to a false witness to rule the country? Is it reasonable for those seeking justice to protect a false witness, or do they [actually] want to get rid of a political adversary?” He said

Aoun also reiterated his call for accounting of public expenditure from 1993, saying that while former PM Rafik Hariri was “very good,” his finance minister began destroying the country, a possible reference to former PM Fouad Siniora

Response to Aoun

March 14 MP Ammar Houri responded Tuesday to Aoun’s criticisms of past fiscal policies.

Houri called on Aoun to launch an investigation into the past policies “not only since 1993, but also since before the establishment of the Taif Agreement [in 1989],” several media outlets reported.

Former MP Farid Haikal al-Khazen accused Aoun last March of stealing $35 million from the Lebanese treasury before leaving for exile in France.

The former MP also challenged Aoun to disclose all of his and his family’s bank account information, including those of their offshore accounts.

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