BEIRUT —
Lebanon's president on Monday called for
an end to a government boycott, implicitly criticizing his ally
Hezbollah for
blocking cabinet meetings since October over demands to fire a judge.
اضافة اعلان
Lebanon's fragile government, formed in
September to stem the country's worst financial crisis, has not met for more
than two months, since October 12.
The Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah
and its Amal movement ally headed by parliamentary speaker
Nabih Berri are
spearheading the boycott.
They are demanding the replacement of Judge
Tarek Bitar who is investigating a blast that ripped through the capital Beirut
in August 2020.
The explosion of a shipment of ammonium
nitrate fertilizer stored haphazardly in a port warehouse for years killed at
least 215 people and disfigured the capital.
Top political and security officials knew of
the dangers posed by the shipment but failed to take action.
Efforts by Bitar to interrogate ex-ministers
have been challenged with lawsuits, while Hezbollah and Amal accuse him of
politicizing the probe.
"It is imperative that the cabinet
meets and remedies ... the problems in the Council of Ministers,"
President Michel Aoun said in a televised speech.
"By which law, by which logic, by which
constitution is the Council of Ministers blocked, asked to make a decision that
does not fall within its powers," he said.
Without naming them, he was referring to the
demands from Hezbollah and Amal that cabinet deal with their demand to remove
Bitar.
Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented
economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one the planet's worst since the
mid-19th century.
More than 80 percent of the population lives
in poverty and the local currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value on
the black market.
Political squabbling has hampered financial
recovery, including talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Last week Aoun said Lebanon would need
"six to seven years" to emerge from its crisis, while some experts
have said it would be much longer.
In another swipe at Hezbollah, Aoun on
Monday said Lebanon's defense is the state's responsibility.
Hezbollah wields major political and
military influence in Lebanon and is the only group to have kept its weapons
since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
"The state alone puts up the defense
strategy and attends to its implementation," Aoun said.
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