Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced, in a speech following a government meeting, that “the Cabinet decided to maintain Cabinet Decision No. 5 dated 20-8-1998, to adopt summer and winter timings without any modification at present,” indicating that “it was decided to implement daylight saving time starting from Wednesday night to Thursday.”
Mikati clarified that “the decision to extend winter time was aimed at providing relief for fasting individuals during the month of Ramadan for one hour, without causing any harm to any other Lebanese component, noting that this decision has been made several times in the past.” He emphasized that “the continuation of winter time until the end of Ramadan, which I consulted with the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, was preceded by intensive meetings over several months with the participation of ministers and concerned parties.”
He stated, “Since the end of the term of the former President Michel Aoun, I have been struggling alongside a group of ministers, the army, and all security forces, and the unsung soldiers from public administration to maintain the structure of the Lebanese state, which, if it collapses, will be very difficult to reconstruct.”
Mikati stressed that he has endured heavy accusations, falsehoods, and fabrications silently, noting that “the ball of fire has become a burning ember; either we all bear it, or we stop throwing accusations and offensive words at one another.” He pointed out that the easiest thing he could do is to abstain from gathering the Cabinet, while the hardest thing is to continue to shoulder responsibility.
He added, “Be assured that the Sunni community has always been patriotic in the comprehensive sense, preserving the unity of the country and institutions throughout history, and has worked through its elite and leaders to formulate non-sectarian national projects since independence. The Sunni community has endured the assassination of its mufti, its prime ministers, and its religious and political figures for purely national reasons and the price of their loyalty to a unified Lebanon and their non-sectarian national discourse.”
He concluded by saying, “Everyone must bear their responsibilities in addressing what the Lebanese are suffering from, as responsibility is shared, and it is unfair for it to be placed on one person or institution, while others stand by as spectators or opportunists.”
