Lebanon: Independent, 'Dissident' MPs Seek to Form Opposition Front

Asharq Alawsat

June 30th, 8:35am

Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat

A demonstrator rests on the ground as he and other demonstrators block a highway during ongoing anti-government protests in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A number of Lebanese independent deputies and others, who withdrew from parliamentary blocs they had joined after the recent elections, are seeking to form a unified opposition entity in order to support civil society movements through the parliament. MP Neemat Frem revealed ongoing talks between a number of deputies to establish a unified opposition, pointing that some MPs could leave their blocs. In the wake of the massive protests that started on October 17, Frem decided to withdraw from the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc, which is headed by MP Gebran Bassil, President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law. MP Paula Yacoubian, for her part, emphasized that talks were underway with deputies “who actually embraced the demands of the revolution, and not within the framework of folklore and slogans, to try to form an opposition parliamentary front.” “Our aim is to strengthen and expand the opposition so that its voice can be heard and it can assume its role in promoting real reform and change,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat. Kataeb MP Elias Hankash noted that the opposition front was yet to be crystallized, adding that communication was underway between independent deputies to study the possibility of forming such a front under the current circumstances. “This is why we are calling for early parliamentary elections to increase the number of independent deputies, in order to extend the front that we aspire to form,” he said in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat. MP Shamel Roukoz, the other son-in-law of Aoun, is actively working within an opposition front composed of retired officers. Sources close to Roukoz said that the deputy was seeking to expand the “national rescue movement” to all Lebanese areas. “The movement is operating under the slogans of revolution, and it aims to build a state of law and institutions,” the sources noted.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2362491/lebanon-independent-dissident-mps-seek-form-opposition-front