The Lebanese Hezbollah party warned against surrendering to the conditions of the International Monetary Fund, and praised the government's plan for reform, while the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, considered the request for assistance from the fund a positive step.
"We are not in principle against seeking any help from any party in the world except Lebanon's enemies, but we refuse to totally surrender to the conditions of the International Monetary Fund," Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech yesterday.
Nasrallah added that any negotiations with the International Monetary Fund will be subject to discussion in the government. He also welcomed the invitation of Lebanese President Michel Aoun, heads of parliamentary blocs, to meet tomorrow, asking everyone to participate.
Nasrallah described the government's reform plan as a major and important step that needs national support, noting that Lebanese banks have made great profits for years, but they have not taken steps to help the country in this circumstance.
He denied accusations to his party that he wanted to destroy the Lebanese banking sector, but he considered that the way banks dealt with people's deposits prompted the party to criticize banks.
For his part, Jumblatt said that the Lebanese government's approach to the International Monetary Fund is positive, and called for serious negotiations with the fund and mitigation of the economic and social crisis.
The head of the Progressive Socialist Party considered after a meeting with the Lebanese President that changing the government is inappropriate, due to what he called economic and social woes.
In turn, Prime Minister Hassan Diab confirmed his country's commitment to implementing the economic reforms that were included in the financial and economic reform program.
The Future Bloc in Parliament announced yesterday that it refuses to participate in the meeting that Aoun called for to present the financial rescue plan, considering that the natural place to discuss the plan is Parliament. The presidency replied by asserting that Aoun’s call is at the core of cooperation between institutions, and that the abstainer bears the repercussions of his decision regarding the Lebanese and the international community.
In this context, Aoun called the Defense Council to a meeting today, Tuesday, before the Council of Ministers, to discuss the issue of public mobilization.
The Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee held a session yesterday to listen to the finance and economy ministers about the government plan, and the session’s chairman, Ibrahim Ibrahim Kanaan, said, “We hope to reach an agreement with the Monetary Fund, but the government must define for us its alternative plan in the event that the negotiations did not reach the desired result, which is an issue Important to differentiate. "