The Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Army, Gen. Joseph Aoun, during a ceremony in Yarze on June 22, 2023. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun called Wednesday evening for political leaders to approve the expected nominations to the Military Council, where three posts, including that of Chief of Staff, remain vacant.
General Aoun is due to retire in January 2024 and seems to fear an army leadership vacuum.
"No one can take [interim] charge of the army, with the exception of the Chief of Staff, who deputizes for the Commander-in-Chief," Aoun said at a celebration in honor of newly promoted officers in Yarze, according to a statement published by the state-run National News Agency.
"This issue is clearly mentioned in the Civil Defense Code, and it is for this reason that it is necessary to appoint the members of the Military Council," he added.
The post of Chief of Staff, a position traditionally reserved for a Druze person, has been vacant since December 2022, as have those of Inspector General (Greek Orthodox) and Director General of Administration within the army (Shiite).
But part of the political spectrum, notably Gebran Bassil's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), refuses to allow the current caretaker cabinet, which is solely responsible for handling basic current affairs, to make appointments during a presidential vacancy. Lebanon has had no president since Oct. 31, 2022.
This viewpoint is opposed by caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, who believes that his cabinet can make such appointments.
On Wednesday, Mikati told L'Orient-Le Jour that the caretaker cabinet "can make all kinds of decisions with a majority of 16 ministers [two-thirds of cabinet members]," despite FPM ministers boycotting the cabinet meetings. He justified his position by the need to "manage the country in exceptional circumstances" and to "preserve the institutions of the state, notably the army." Caretaker Defense Minister Maurice Slim is one of the cabinet members boycotting the meetings.
In his speech Wednesday evening, General Aoun also praised the promotion of officers who reached the rank of colonel between January 2020 and July 2022, and who have now been advanced to the rank of brigadier general.
This measure, which concerns officers from the military classes of 1994, 1995 and 1996, was long overdue. It was reportedly blocked for several years by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, during the term of former President Michel Aoun, due to a political battle over appointments.