Lebanon’s Amal Movement Accuses US of Stopping Salameh’s Dismissal

Caption: FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
Caption: FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
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Lebanon’s Amal Movement Accuses US of Stopping Salameh’s Dismissal

Caption: FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
Caption: FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

The US Ambassador to Beirut has warned the Lebanese authorities that any attempt to sack Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh would lead to the seizure of Lebanon’s assets and gold reserves in the US, an Amal Movement official revealed Sunday.

“US Ambassador (Dorothy Shea) informed President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab through the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, that firing Salameh would lead to the seizure of Lebanon’s $20 billion-worth assets and gold in the US by considering them Hezbollah’s assets,” Qabalan Qabalan said on Sunday.

His comments came following reports that Speaker Nabih Berri and his Amal Movement were throwing their support behind the Central Bank governor and warning that his removal would send the currency tumbling and threaten deposits.

Qabalan said officials would not dare to sack the governor and therefore would search for another scapegoat in Lebanon's economic crisis.

He warned that the dismissal of Salameh without finding a credible alternative would lead to the evaporation of what is left of depositors’ funds.

“This also means the Lebanese currency would tumble further and cause more street protests,” he said.

The Lebanese pound, which has lost more than half its value since October, slid to record lows on a parallel market last week, nearing 4,000 to the dollar. The official pegged pound rate of 1,507.5 to the dollar is available only for certain vital imports.

On Sunday, Salameh received support from Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi, who asked, "Who benefits from the destabilization of the position of the Central Bank governor?

During Sunday’s Mass service, the Patriarch said, "While we were waiting for the Prime Minister to announce a reform plan that would eliminate corruption, waste and theft in the country...we were surprised by a final ruling against the governor without hearing him or giving him the right to self-defense.”

Diab and Bassil are pushing towards replacing Salameh.

On Sunday, Bassil said during a press conference that the corrupt, thieves, greedy beneficiaries, the banks, their owners and shareholders and the Central Bank should assume responsibility for Lebanon’s financial losses.



France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
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France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)

France said Tuesday it was expelling 12 Algerian diplomatic officials a day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials in escalating tensions between the two countries.

Algeria said Monday that its expulsion of 12 French officials was over the arrest of an Algerian consular official by French authorities in a kidnapping case, but relations between the two sides have been deteriorating since last summer. That's when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara — a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algeria.

Tensions further peaked in November after Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is an outspoken critic of the Algerian regime. He has since been sentenced to five years in prison — a verdict he subsequently appealed.

In addition to what French officials called the "symmetrically" calibrated expulsion of 12 Algerian officials, France's ambassador to Algiers also was being recalled home for consultations, a statement from the French presidential palace said Tuesday.

It said Algerian authorities were responsible for "a brutal deterioration in our bilateral relations."

French counterterrorism prosecutors said three Algerian nationals in total were arrested last week and handed preliminary charges of "kidnapping or arbitrary detention … in connection with a terrorist undertaking."

The group is allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, or Amir DZ, a known critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on TikTok.

The latest surge in acrimony followed a brief easing of tensions about two weeks ago when French President Emmanuel Macron called Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. French officials said they had agreed to revive bilateral relations.