 Hizbullah and Amal ministers walked out of a Cabinet session Thursday, protesting the government's reactions to a speech made by Syrian President Bashar Assad.
| "I dunno why we dunnit. We just looked at each other, and it was like we were in Islamabad, so we tromped out..." |
In an unprecedented attack on the Lebanese government, Assad said Prime Minister Fouad Siniora had allowed Lebanon to become a base for Syria's enemies, describing him as a "slave following the orders of another slave."
| Oh! Civil, well-reasoned discourse, is it? |
"The truth we see today is that Lebanon has become a passageway, a factory and a financier of these conspiracies," Assad said in a televised speech on Thursday.
| But strangely enough, it wasn't a Syrian bigwig who blew up... |
Siniora responded mildly, vowing Lebanon would remain committed "to the will of life, independence, freedom, democracy and sovereignty. Lebanon will remain committed to being part of the Arab nation and its causes ... despite all that is being said or will be said."
| Pretty mild response, I'd say. So what's the Hezbollah bitch? |
Ministers from Lebanon's two main Shiite parties Mohammad Fneish, Tarrad Hamade, Fawzi Salloukh, Talal Sahili and Mohammad Khalifeh withdrew from the heated Cabinet session after Assad's speech became the dominant topic. Speaking later, Hamade said: "Siniora should have referred to the media and said whatever he wants about Assad's speech."
| Assad made charges against the Lebanese gummint which, if untrue, are slanderous and demeaning. So the PM wasn't supposed to discuss them with his cabinet? That must be Islamic logic. |
"The Cabinet session was transformed into a platform for immediate and personal reactions," he added.
"Cheeze, it pisses me off when he sez stuff like that," Siniora stated to the cabinet.
"That does it! We're walking out!" responded Hezbollah and Amal. |
Fneish said he was not ready to take any position before consulting with Hizbullah.
| "I need somebody to tell me what my opinion is." |
"There was an insistence on discussing Assad's speech so we decided to withdraw," he said. In remarks following the session, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said the Cabinet rejected the statements made by Assad, and reiterated its trust in Siniora.
| What were they expected to do? A year ago, they'd have said something like "Oh, yasss! That's quite true!" and sent another load of tribute to earn forgiveness. |
The Cabinet stressed its commitment to the establishment of brotherly relations with Syria.
| "Which is not the same as having sex with them." |
It also underlined the need to preserve national unity to overcome challenges facing the country. Asked about the withdrawal of Hizbullah and Amal ministers from the session, he said: "Withdrawal is one of their democratic rights." |