BEIRUT, Oct 28 (KUNA) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Neguib Mikati has affirmed that he will not step down as a result of a mounting rhetorical campaign against his government from the March 14 movement of Saad Al-Hariri.
Mikati, in remarks published by the daily newspaper An-Nahar, on Sunday, affirmed that he brushed aside the idea of resignation because such a move might be interpreted "as an acknowledgement on my side of bearing responsibility of the blood of the chief of the intelligence of the Internal Security Force Brigadier General Wissam Al-Hassan." He was alluding to assassination of Brig. Gen. Al-Hassan who was killed in a bomb blast in Beirut on October 19. Following the bloody incident, the local media reported that the premier tendered his resignation to President Michel Suleiman, but the latter abstained from blessing it. Mikati made the move after a new round of sharp criticisms and actions against his government, including a bid by protestors to storm headquarters of the cabinet.
Mikati acknowledged that he had intended to step down, but rescinded the decision as a result of the dramatic escalation of the campaign against him. He also told An-Nahar that he opted to pursue services as head of the government to avert a major political crisis in the country, already overwhelmed with a high pile of problems.
The premier, a moderate politician from the northern city of Tripoli, has declared a "policy of non-intervention" in the crisis in neighboring Syria. This issue, along with several other questions, has created disputes between him and Al-Hariri's movement.
Al-Hariri junior, who has charged the Syrian regime of masterminding assassination of his father Rafic, in 2005, has declared support for the Syrian opposition against Bashar Al-Assad's rule. (end) ayb.rk KUNA 281222 Oct 12NNNN