Over three weeks, after its formation, Lebanon's national-unity government Monday ratified the policy statement draft reached by a special ministerial committee on Friday.
President Michel Suleiman headed the meeting at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. The meeting endorsed the policy statement draft textually, paving the way for an anticipated vote of confidence session at parliament. Reservations were expressed by four Christian ministers of the so-called "March 14" bloc. Information Minister Tareq Mitri said the statement was adopted unanimously to secure "ministerial solidarity."
The main reason for the reservations was that the statement included the word “Resistance” and affirmed once again the basic right of the Resistance (Hizbullah) to liberate lands. Mitri conveyed the four wanted to add a phrase to the clause placing resistance activity "under the state wing," but their proposal was rejected.
Following the meeting, Premier Fuad Saniora said the policy statement is "in the interest of Lebanon." "The forthcoming era is full of challenges and we should confront it," Saniora stressed.
