Interview with Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares on CNN
28/2/2005

• What was it that all about the resignation of the government?
- Hello Peggy, I’m afraid I’ve been away for sometime for the past 10 days. I have not attended the parliamentary session. But apparently the Prime Minister has been really upset. Although the government has the support of the majority of members of parliament. But you know, the accusation were coming as such and not really considering that the Prime Minister and all members of the government were as upset, as any other group of people in the country, for the assassination, the terrible assassination, of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. It is very unfortunate and very sad, in the history of Lebanon what took place. Apparently, with all these accusation from members of parliament, delivering speeches in parliament, and pin-point the accusations on the government; under that pressure, The Prime Minister decided to submit the resignation of the government.

• Were you surprised about that decision?

- It was really unexpected and he did not really discuss it with the members of government and neither with the Speaker. I don’t know if he has discussed it with the president.

• Would you suggest that the popular protest that we’ve seen in Beirut, the peoples’ power, is it behind the resignation of this government, and can we expect a government that will truly represent the Lebanese people is going forward?

- As you know Peggy, we have a parliamentarian system, and now the president had accepted the resignation of the government. It will take a brief couple of days for the president, to call for parliamentary consultations, and it depends on the majority of members of parliament who they name as Prime Minister. The process will take place and the designated Prime minister will form the government and submit to the president to be issued.
Right now, this parliament is still active, I mean we don’t have the rule of peoples, we have the rule of members of parliament. The peoples should have their say definitely in the elections, the coming elections which should take place in the next months between April and May. Our term, as members of parliaments expires the 31st of May.

• You are a member of a Syria-backed government; you cannot take a government at this point. Should the rest of the world believe or expect the complete withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence at this point. It has been demanding of course.

- Peggy, I headed Lebanon’s delegation to the UN last September, delivered the speech at the UN general assembly. It’s on record that Lebanon respect the UN resolution and especially 1559, but we said at that time, it’s a matter of timing to coordinate all these matters. Since then, Terry Roed Larsen had been appointed by Mr. Annan and visited Beirut and Syria and he was really coordinating the process to take place in really peaceful way. You know we cannot afford to go back to when we were during the war of the 1975 – 1990 and therefore we need to be careful so as not to have the country going into the unknown.
This is very delicate and we have still a very very delicate country. We know what steps we should take. But unfortunately it went out of control. My recommendation were all along to Prime Minister Hariri, God bless his soul, no to resign last October and to stay as Prime Minister! Keep the government. I also indicated that to the President and others, that the Hariri government should stay till the elections are in place and new parliament can form a new government. Unfortunately no body listened and all those bad things happened.


• There has been pressure on Syria to remove troops by both US and France. Would you, I am asking you sir, whether you agree with US and France that Syrian Troops and Intelligence should be withdrawn completely from the country as this point.

- I am for the implementation of resolution 1559. But I disagree on timing, the timing is of essence and very important to work out the timing to handle these delicate issues, starting the arms in Hezbollah hands, secondly the Palestinian arms in the camps and thirdly the Syrian withdrawal.
I am for the implementation of all Security Council resolutions to be honest with you but not in a forcible way, in a diplomatic way.

• Thank you indeed sir, we were with Mr. Issam Fares Deputy PM of Lebanese government.