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| Hussein Assi | |
| Former Minister Abdul Rahim Mrad to Al-Manar Website:
In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar website, Mrad said that Prime Minister-Designate Najib Miqati was vague in his position towards the Sunni opposition. He slammed the possibility of appointing four Sunni ministers from Tripoli as heresy, and stressed that it was unacceptable to deprive the Bekaa region from its right to be represented in the government. Mrad warned of the possibility to leave the new majority and join the opposition in case “our allies accepted to marginalize us and the Bekaa in the upcoming government.” CABINET FORMATION STAGE NOT SATISFACTORY  The former minister told Al-Manar website that it was not the first time optimism prevailed in the cabinet formation process. He expressed hope “this recent wave” would be serious, and therefore, would lead to the formation of the government. However, he hoped the new cabinet would be really satisfactory, as he expressed dissatisfaction at the formation process.Mrad said if the reasons behind the delay in the cabinet formation process were internal, then these reasons have ended. “However, if they were external and related to US Ambassador Maura Connelly, then we will have to wait to see whether the American veto has expired or the green light has been given,” he added. Mrad said that the meeting which joined the premier-designate Najib Miqati with the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun had set the foundation. “As we all know, most internal problems were between Aoun and Miqati. However, the positive atmosphere should have been completed through a meeting between Miqati and President Michel Sleiman, which has not happened yet,” he noted. MIQATI AMBIGUOUS… WE WILL NOT ACCEPT HERESY  Asked about the Sunni opposition nub and whether it was resolved, Mrad said that the premier-designate was very ambiguous in this regard.He declared his full rejection to appointing four ministers from Tripoli to resolve the matter. He was referring to press reports saying that Miqati could accept appointing the new majority candidate Fayssal Omar Karame, from Tripoli, on condition Miqati’s ally MP Ahmad Karame, who’s also from Tripoli, be appointed. The cabinet already includes two other Tripoli figures, Minister Mohamad Safadi and Miqati himself. “This is complete heresy,” Mrad stressed. “We are of course with the nomination of Faysal Karame in the government. However, we will not accept that the Bekaa region be marginalized and ignored,” Mrad pointed out. “The Bekaa region must be represented in the cabinet. Otherwise, we will consider ourselves as an opposition,” he warned. The former minister explained that the new majority included many national forces that should have a place in the government. He noted that the national parties, (in reference to Hezbollah, AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party) could not be simply ignored and neglected, after they made every concession they could. Asked about the latest stance made by the head of the Lebanese Democratic Party Talal Areslan, in which he rejected the post of Minister of State and demanded a more effective portfolio as a condition for his participation in the cabinet, Mrad expressed belief this issue was resolved and that a portfolio was given to Areslan. CHANGE SHOULD START IN DAR AL-FATWA  Mrad, a Sunni political figure, commented on the latest stance of Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohamad Rashid Qabbani, in which he urged the people to take to the streets and call for change, Mrad said that “change must start in the religious institution. Mufti Qabbani should call for change in his religious institution first,” he said.Mufti Qabbani also stressed the Taif Accord “is the base and the problem resides in the hearts, not in the agreement, the loyalty, or the opposition. “The Taif accord is not a holy book,” Mrad pointed out. “The experience, during the past twenty years, was not successful,” he added. “It is right that the accord was not fully adopted. However, many gaps have surfaced and they should be discussed, but in healthier conditions,” he went on to say. SYRIA WILL TRIUMPH AT THE END  Turning to the Syrian issue, Mrad said that the Western pressure on Syria were not surprising. “They were even excepted as Syria is the only Arab regime that is facing the US-Zionist scheme,” he said. “It is also the only regime that resisted despite the pressure and did not back up in its continuous support to the Resistance,” he added.Mrad expressed belief that the Syrian regime was still strong and that it would face the internal crisis with firmness and steadfastness. He said Syria will triumph at the end despite all foreign interferences and some media, especially the Arab ones. Asked whether the foreign interferences include some Lebanese sides in light of the Future party MP Mohamad Kabbara issued a statement this week in which he declared he could not be unbiased with regards to the situation in Syria. Mrad said that the statement was only one of dozens of proofs of this party’s involvement in the developments in Syria. “They are betting on the Syrian regime’s collapse. But their dreams will not come true,” he said, while stressing that “facts prove the Future party’s involvement”, in reference to the arms smuggling operation at the northern border with Syria. THIS IS WALID JUMBLATT…  On the visit by the head of the National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblatt to Syria and his meeting with President Bashar Assad, Mrad said it was part of Jumblatt’s tour that took him to Qatar last month. He said that the PSP leader confirmed, through his visit, two things. “First, he stressed that Syria was able to overcome its crisis and that he did not change his national principles. Second, at the internal level, he confirmed that he did not change his convictions and that whoever was bargaining on such change was deluded,” he explained. “After all, this is Walid Jumblatt,” he went on to say.Asked about the events of the Nakba and Naksa Days (May 15 and June 5) at the borders with occupied Palestine, Mrad rejected the hypothesis claiming that these events were aimed at taking the attention from what was happening in Syria. He said “they signal a new movement in the region, given that the United States is preparing a plan for a weak Palestinian state, with complete neglect to the refugees, Al-Quds, and settlements. “The Palestinians will not be satisfied at all with such scenario,” he said. Mrad saw in the Naksa Day events (June 5) an expression of the determination of Palestinians. “They stressed they wanted to return to their land and they will not accept naturalization or their basic right of return be neglected,” he said. Asked whether these events marked the launch of a new Arab Intifada, Mrada said: “We hope so. I don’t know when things will be mature. But change is coming.”
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