Lebanese information minister condemns war in Yemen and angering Gulf countries

Information Minister George Kordahi at the Presidential Palace, Beirut, September 13, 2021. REUTERS - MOHAMED AZAKIR

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Remarks by Lebanese Minister of Information Georges Cordahi, condemning the war in Yemen, caused an outcry in Lebanon and a diplomatic crisis between the country of the Cedar and certain Gulf States.

Calls for the minister's resignation have been launched in Lebanon and elsewhere.

Opposite, voices were raised to denounce an attack on freedom of expression and national sovereignty.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

The war in Yemen is "

" and the Houthi rebels "

". This opinion expressed by the Lebanese Minister of Information was sufficient to trigger a real storm in Lebanon and in the Gulf countries. Georges Cordahi said these words a month before his appointment, during a television program recorded on August 5 and broadcast this week.

Prime Minister Nagib Mikati tried to avoid the diplomatic crisis by specifying that the minister's remarks "

".

But it was a waste of time.

Saudi Arabia and three other Gulf countries have delivered letters of protest to Lebanese ambassadors or diplomats, and personalities from these countries have demanded an apology or even the resignation of the minister.

In Lebanon, the political class and the population have once again displayed their deep divisions between defenders and detractors of the Minister of Information.

The hashtag #GeorgesCordahi was shared on Twitter some 190,000 times in less than 24 hours.

The minister refused to apologize for a mistake he did not commit, repeating that the "

".

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• Yemen

• Lebanon