A statement was issued by Minister of Information Ziad Makari, which read: "As a week has passed since the general assembly of employees in the Ministry of Information and the decision for a warning strike, and after exhausting all avenues to address the employees' conditions and enable them to continue their work, I regret to announce that my efforts have not succeeded in breaking through the entrenched crisis, nor in avoiding the bitter decision.
Accordingly, the National News Agency will commence an open-ended strike starting midnight tonight, hoping it will not be lengthy, after the employees have felt—along with myself—the impossibility of reaching the workplace to continue their mission, which they have never shied away from performing.
Despite the dire situation, I will spare no effort in pursuing the rightful and sacred demands of the employees, which take precedence over any other issue, supported by the efforts of Prime Minister Mikati and attempts to reach fair solutions very soon with the general directors and representatives of the public sector."
