The media office of the head of the Lebanese caretaker government, Saad Hariri, denied the authenticity of information attributed to the Minister of Hezbollah in the government, Mahmoud Qumati, regarding Hariri's position regarding the mandate of President Hassan Diab to form the new government, while supporters of the Future Movement, led by Saad Hariri, closed a number of ways The basic areas and areas of the capital, Beirut, yesterday, in protest against the assignment of Diab, and they warned of a "real collapse".
In detail, the media office of Saad Hariri said in a press statement yesterday: “Nidaa Al-Watan newspaper published a statement by Minister Mahmoud Qumati regarding Saad Hariri’s position regarding President Hassan Diab’s mandate to form the government.”
The statement added: "The media office confirms that the information attributed to Minister Qumati is absolutely incorrect, and that if it were true, there was nothing that prevented Hariri and the Future Movement bloc from naming or agreeing to participate in the government, which did not and will not happen."
The statement continued: «In fact, Hariri had informed everyone before the parliamentary consultations that he would not propose names, nor would he comment on names suggested by others, which required clarification.
The Lebanese newspaper, “Nidaa Al-Watan” published, in its yesterday’s edition, that Minister Qumati revealed to the newspaper (Sunday) that Diab’s designation “came after clear and explicit approval from Saad Hariri, and after obtaining his support and promise to help facilitate authorship and give the government confidence” .
This comes at a time when the traffic control room in Beirut reported the closure of the Jiyeh Road south of Beirut, the Corniche of Mazraa, Cola, and the Sports City in the Lebanese capital.
The demonstrators also closed a number of roads in the north and the Lebanese Bekaa in the east of the country, causing the streets to crowd in some areas, before it was partially reopened with the advance of daylight hours.
The witnesses of the martyrs and Riyadh Al-Solh in Beirut, the night before the past, witnessed a massive demonstration, in which thousands of protesters participated, in protest against the assignment of Diab, and the way the political authority deals with developments and the current situation.
The demonstrators chanted angry slogans against all the political class, calling for an independent rescue government as soon as possible, and to address the deteriorating economic conditions in the country.
The demonstrators say that they succeeded in returning the crowds to the martyrs and Riyadh al-Solh Square, after the political system gambled on the decline in the momentum of the protests, after assigning Hassan Diab to form a new government.
After an angry gathering in Al-Shuhada and Riyadh Al-Solh Square, some protesters went to the entrance of the Lebanese parliament, chanting the slogan: "Go away, Hassan," and "So you have an independent one," referring to Diab's independence.
Supporters of the Progressive Socialist Party, headed by former lawmaker Walid Jumblatt, attacked a tent for protesters in the city of Alia, Mount Lebanon, the night before.
The protesters shattered the tent and struck those present, which resulted in some injuries among the protesters.