The media office of former Prime Minister Hassan Diab issued a statement this afternoon, in which it commented on a recent statement by former Minister Mohamed Choucair, where he considered that the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri ceased because PM Hariri “refused to refrain from paying the Eurobonds,” while the government of PM Hassan Diab came into rule “with a prior decision and agreement to announce the failure to pay these bonds,” adding that “the Central Bank had $34 billion in assets while only $500 million was needed to pay the bonds!”

The statement criticized former Minister Choucair’s words in this regards, and his lack of awareness of the financial and economic reality, his lightness in approaching such a matter of significant importance and his underestimation of the magnitude of the economic crisis in the country.

As for the issue of subsidy-lifting, the statement indicated that “subsidy” is a policy adopted in Lebanon for a long time, taking different forms from subsidizing medicine, to flour, to supporting “some” bank and “some” politicians and businessmen, to supporting the dollar, etc…

The statement stressed herein that former PM Hassan Diab “refused to lift the subsidies without an alternative presented to the Lebanese citizen, such as the financing card,” adding that “if time goes back, PM Diab will again refuse to lift subsidies on gasoline, diesel, flour and medicine…because what occurred in the event of lifting the subsidies later on was a disaster for which the Lebanese paid a heavy price and queues continued in front of gas stations and bakeries at huge costs.”

The statement expressed certainty that former PM Saad Hariri “had no knowledge” of former Minister Choucair’s words, adding that “it remains up to him [Hariri] to take the appropriate stance in this regards, for he knows sufficiently Mr. Choucair’s capabilities in assessing the financial situation of Lebanon.”

Finally, the statement by former PM Diab’s media office considered that “Minister Choucair ought to have completed a critical review of the past stage, and to have approached matters far from superficial, narrow and revengeful considerations.”

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon