Lebanese MP Ali Hassan Khalil, political aide to parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, hit back at head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), MP Gebran Bassil, hinting that the latter was exercising the role of the president alongside his father-in-law, President Michel Aoun.
“The problem with the state is when we elect two presidents for the republic,” Khalil said during a press conference on Monday.
He accused the FPM of corruption in the energy and communications sectors, stressing that the criticism against the central bank governor, Riad Salameh, was “a lie that will not deceive the public opinion.”
The Amal Movement deputy also criticized statements by Bassil and Aoun about “financial decentralization”, which he saw as an attempt to “undermine the foundation of a unified state and balanced development.”
His comments came in response to Bassil’s attack against Berri, whom he accused of hampering parliament’s work.
“The Lebanese are exhausted and anxious as a result of the policies of this presidential tenure… which is trying to blame others for its failure…” Khalil stated.
Addressing the head of the FPM, he said: “It is you, who disrupted the vote in the Council of Ministers on decisions to control your suspicious roles in the files of energy, communications, the environment and many others…”
With regard to the judiciary and specifically the Beirut Port explosion file, Khalil said: “A sane person cannot present himself as the protector of the constitution… and ignore clear texts that specify how to deal with the file of the port crime and others…”
“This is what we have declared since day one, and we are still committed to it to protect the investigation, truth and justice,” he remarked.
Government has not convened since October in wake of a dispute between Hezbollah and Berri's Amal movement over Judge Tarek Bitar, who is probing the blast. The two allies have been demanding his removal from the case, accusing him of bias.
Khalil has been summoned to appear before Bitar for questioning. The former minister has repeatedly rejected the summons and the judge has since issued a warrant for his arrest.
