The President of the Republic Michel Aoun. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT – Following Saturday's cabinet meeting to discuss the increasing tensions between Lebanon's banking sector and its judiciary, President Michel Aoun met with Minister of Justice Henri Khoury and "expressed his satisfaction with what was issued regarding the independence of the judiciary and respect for the principle of separation of powers," Aoun's office said in a statement.
Here's what we know:
• Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Najib Mikati had announced that Khoury has been tasked with addressing the “shortcomings” in the judiciary in relation to the judicial orders that froze the assets of some seven commercial banks in the country this week, leading the banking sector to call a "warning strike" on Monday and Tuesday.
• Along with calling for the cabinet to respect the independence of the judiciary, Aoun said in his statement that "there is no justification for any delay" in approval of a capital control law, a financial recovery plan, a law on recovery of funds illegally transferred abroad, and implementation of a forensic audit of the central bank.
• The political bureau of the president's Free Patriotic Movement, in a statement, also held the government responsible for the "financial chaos which is delaying the adoption of a recovery plan" in the country. It reiterated its support for holding the legislative elections on the scheduled dates and expressed "concern" about the decision by a number of high-profile Sunni political figures not to run, expressing hope that this would not lead to a Sunni boycott of the elections.
• Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun, who has been actively pursuing criminal investigations against financial sector figures including central bank chief Riad Salameh, is seen as close to the president, who has sought to project an image of being tough on corruption in the banking sector.