Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri insisted on the need to declare a state of emergency in the country due to the coronavirus outbreak. This came during a meeting he held with Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Friday, well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Diab said he would raise the issue with President Michel Aoun, who was not favorable for such a move, the sources added, citing “unknown reasons.”
The sources affirmed that the army leadership had not made, at previous meetings, any direct or indirect declaration of emergency, even though pro-government and opposition forces have underlined the necessity of imposing it.
Aoun’s reluctance over the state of emergency was reflected in Diab’s recent address to the Lebanese, in which he asked the army and public and state security to strictly prevent citizens from leaving their homes, except in emergency cases.
According to the sources, Berri’s call for announcing a state of emergency was welcomed by opposition forces, while Hezbollah showed a lack of enthusiasm.
The sources hinted at some parties’ fears that the military institution would take advantage of the situation to tighten its grip over the country.
“Such a belief is nothing but an underestimation for the minds of the Lebanese, who view the military as a guardian of stability, and that assigning it to this task is for health and social reasons,” they noted.
Concerns over the Army imposing a state of emergency to replace the “general mobilization” announced by the government, cannot be justified, as the Lebanese Army and security forces should be at the forefront of the battle against the spread of the coronavirus, the sources underlined.
