A 2nd time in power and 2020 the impeachment inquiry is a scam join us for the latest developments on aljazeera. Will. Be. 20000000. 00 t. V. s be a challenging year for little bit seen nation boy protests for months. People are demanding an end to corruption a change in the political system and better management of the economy. As a result Prime Minister saad hariri handed in his resignation in late october. But protests to say thats not enough but have been calling for a complete overhaul of lebanons political system and its 6 base power sharing agreement. And as people chant in the streets against politicians the one name that seems to be singled out often. Feel lebanons foreign minister persil is president own son in law and has previously held other ministerial positions without being an elected member of Parliament Many consider him to be one of the most divisive figures in the country we caught up with him this years doha forum and asked him about his role in government and the best way to address the protest is to months lebanons foreign minister. Took soldiers here. Foreign minister its a pleasure to have you with us that they dont have for him. On all of them means all of them that is the slogan that protesters have been chanting since the beginning of the revolution that started on october the 17th calling for the fall of the entire government you in particular have borne the brunt of a lot of the criticism from some protestors why do you think theyve singled you out. You know the protesters are really righteous about their demands not only i sympathize with them i couldnt bear the situation economical situation and in lebanon the level of corruption and the can on the on the killed on everybody means everybody is a kind of frustrated they are expressing though its unfair to someone like me for example it shows somehow that people can not bear anything anybody because of the failure of the system. Thats how i can and the lies it but i can say that the slogan also somehow would be protecting people from accountability because if everybody is caught up then you cannot make anybody accountable but do you agree that you are seen as part of the political establishment and protesters are fed up with the political establishment yes of course. Whether they are right or wrong this is the perception and we are paying the price of 30 years of wrong policies and of course the option being in power in the last 3 years as such the the country on the verge of collapsing so we are paying the price of the mistakes of others so are you saying that theyre wrong to single you out of course there was you know 2. 00 of them say youre the youre the son in law of the president this is the 3rd ministerial post that you hold you previously served as minister of telecommunications a minister of water and Energy Without initially even holding a parliamentary seat so some point and say well this is exactly whats wrong with the system in lebanon on you know through 3rd prevail at the end but this is not the issue no. My person is mine that what the country is facing now with the priority is to save the country ok and the way to save it is well known its through following. 3 forms fighting corruption and really putting the country on the speth of stability is already there we need now prosperity and our economy has all the ingredients to rise up again so this is the priority no. Later on as i told the justice will prevail the truth will be apparent to everybody lets discuss what will happen this week since we have you with us you can give us some news so consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs to name a new Prime Minister expected on monday theyve been delayed in the past over disagreements over naming a new Prime Minister. It seems like these disagreements still remain though so whats different this time around you know we have our political disagreements thats why in order to cope with the requests of the demonstrators and at the same time not to get out of the constitution we advocating for forming a government of specialists backed by the politicians by the parliament which is our constitution that can be able to. Implement 30 forms that are needed and that are already agreed on we now only need to exit that plan of reforms the budget the electricity the solid waste so much to do in a very short period of time and mainly we have to correct the wrong policies in finance and monetary so the roadmap is there its well known we need to implement that and i guess we have for this purpose to get away of political differences and be up to the spear a shows a photo people you recently said that you and the party of the Free Patriotic Movement of which you are the head will back a new government as youre saying made up an offense harley technocrats but not with the caretaker Prime Minister saad heidi at its head why have you taken the stance or clarify your statement is it is this are some been the is the it is but it is tech knockouts and specialists and back but there are quite many differences on this but the idea is not to have the same repetition of governments who failed before i believe we should give a chance for a kind of a change and this is what i meant but by and not having the expert i mean the state had it in place or we dont mind then you will be out and move the formation of such a government what is important now. Its to have an Efficient Government who will succeed you know this is the priority so the political differences will be resolved later so its sad how did it end his name this week on monday you will not be participating in the government to be near clear so what terms then or are you leaving the door open to you for your party to participate on different terms and if so what are they no its fine if we stay out of the government the snow at the end of the country you know we would be having a kind of construct of a position. And to help it where i would help is needed and as i told you will know we can 2nd if ice this to help the country and this is the priority and i think this is the only thing in the thats for lebanon a government that can produce that can really make the results and if we are seen nothing really be part of it then we dont months we are ready for the 2nd if i see it though we the majority of people look and the bottom and. We have our constitution the right to be there but to consider this a speaking of you know go ahead getting above these details off live on the limb and on the country that is worth the sort of ife it is a model of diversity of pluralism and tolerance that is a horse to preserve and we need lebanon to be on his feet again to be the model of coexistence because if lebanon vanishes. Can only see the extremism and terrorism in our region so this is a horse fighting for true and thats what the protesters say as well lebanon is worth fighting for but what theyre looking for is for sort of concrete action that the ruling elite the powers that be are willing to give up power are willing to make major concessions to give up. Power and give up those seats that have been rotating amongst the same people since the end of the civil war and what what concessions or what signs have you seen that the rulers are willing to you know only only for the for the audios we were not part of the system since the end of the civil war we were exiled and we were always opponents to these policies that still implement now we came back trying to correct these policies and we are above the majority so we failed to find you out of paying the price now but we are not the source of this we are not part of this and thats why you are accepting the now to go back to to the opposition. But again. The priority now is not to have a debate over over this we we have a failing or if failed system a failed regime but we dont want to have a failed state absolute thats thats the main difference with that confession that regime that we have the country will not be able to function we want a secular you know a civil state a secular system we are advocating for this but we dont have the job if you 2 implemented and this in the country and multi confessional country like lebanon this needs a consensus so we hope the only salvation for lebanon is to have a civil state were not there yet unfortunately but we will fight for this 1st we will fight against corruption which is a cancer that is devastating the institutions of the state. You know which is corruption equality and just to get enough cannot prevail we need equality in our society and just to to prevail allow me on the issue of corruption because this is something that weve heard from you before you came you campaigned on a promise to deliver reform to fight Anti Corruption to fight sectarianism transparency transparency internationals globe. Corruption perceptions index says this lebanon ranks 138. 00 out of 180. 00 countries when it comes to corruption corruption its has permeates all levels of society in lebanon on with Political Parties parliament and the police perceived as the most corrupt so what concrete achievements can you point to yourself when it comes to fighting corruption that youve pledged to do it is totally true and thats why you are on the verge of collapsing and thats why you are paying the price politically for this failure who are to be out of knowing that we already present that our block is see it is of flows of anti caught up sion loads that can immediately put people on that accountability and make them return the deliberate a that money from the country i hope that the Political Class but most important that the peoples in the street would help us to put the need that pressure on the parliament to pass these laws because these low that they pass we can then right away put people on that accountability and thats the problem that many lebanese say is that there are these discussions take place and there are a series of reforms that are talked about and discussed but they are not really passed these laws are not passed this. Should there not been now with the people rising we have an exception that apportion at. To pass these flows i believe this is the priority because on the political agenda. There live in these will this is what is uniting them to stein is the need to fight the corruption and the need to have a new policy as an economy we need to have a productive economy this is what made our country despite the richness in its private sector and its people and its Natural Resources we are going back up because of corruption and this is whats uniting us despite our political and religious different differences so we should. See that opportunities and. Unite all together and thats why we are 2nd if i think i would cease in the government because we think that the unity of the people on antiquity option is a golden opportunity that we should not miss. One more question before we turn to Foreign Policy actually on lebanon specifically when you were minister of energy and water you promised the lebanese 24 hours of atrocity by 2015 that deadline has not happened its passed its nearly 5 years later anyone that goes to lebanon knows that there are severe electricity cuts no matter where in the country you are so why have your promises failed to restore electricity and its a shame for a country like lebanon the to have it if its just the but i was modestly the 1st minister of and its you who put a plan to hold plan not only for electricity but of but for the and that she sect that and lebanon and we passed it but because of corruption it was stopped because of corruption that plan stopped and the power plants that were supposed to be believed were not paid by the by the state and so the contact there is an incomplete that will work and another factor driving the protest actually is frustration as you know with the sectarian system which generates corruption like youre talking about and a gridlock and people say it enables politicians to work for the benefit of their sects and their people rather than the benefits of their country some protesters now are calling for a dismantling of the sectarian system how 1st of all do you agree with that and secondly how do you begin to dismantle a sectarian system in a country like lebanon where its so deeply embedded in the i dont the ligeti but i have to admit that its a long process because its based on the education of the people its a culture that process if people dont have it then they dispute it you know you cannot have it on paper but its only and i believe that were still in the minority asking for this to put this major change in the country like lebanon and this is a i said i would salvation even though its the cell. Ation of the christians for whom i fight to get back their rights in the confessional system i think this is the way to protect all confessions in lebanon and to make people equal citizens equal in front of you know we have the. Know all of the powerful we dont have the power of the law in our country and this is what can make people really equal in front of the lotus is our salvation ok lets turn to Foreign Policy and relations we have a few minutes remaining a former u. S. Ambassador to lebanon spelled out u. S. Interests during your recent congressional testimony he was saying this that these protests fortunately coincide with u. S. Interests against hezbollah and he urged stepped up American Intervention emphasizing the value of Domestic Initiative combined with external support this is a quotation what is your response to that you know i believe that its not very nice if this is still not what he said but if this is the policy right you know in order to we know what the you will always see years against has you and i which as your ally but you know its to sanction a group of people you know or a part of the population you end up sanctioning all of the population and all of the country you know i dont think this is beneficial to the target one is aiming to i believe they put people and companies in isolation where lebanon can only live and that action in lebanon can the bridge the difference is by nature it is a country of equilibrium can bridge between east and west between islam and christianity and isolating lebanon on lebanese inside lebanon is only a recipe for war or conflict we need a positive competition in our region because. Frankly confrontation not competition confrontation can lead to extremism and a region full of you know from that prism this is leading to terrorism and the region and this is not helpful this is the anti mordred of lebanon and this is killing lebanon so we dont want to encourage out of the restoration of 2 of the resorts palestinian israeli crisis we dont want to push people into more virus this is not helpful and this has proven not to be helpful look look at syria look at iraq do we want to turn lebanon into another modern world like syria and iraq or do we want to put lebanon on the path of prosperity being a place you know for the stability of peace and the reach of promoting peace but promoting violence against each other promoting coexistence at there is a region of diversity i would promote 11 including lebanon on syria iraq jordan palestine of full of diversity not full of violence and immigration and you know a promoting the ideology of hatred the threats level but some hold the view of foreign minister that lebanons relations with the International Community and even with its regional allies like gulf countries have suffered and thats due to hezbollahs presence in lebanon as well as hezbollahs alliance with iran so as foreign minister whose party is allied with hezbollah what do you say to that you know this is for internal matters but our position for lebanon has to be this is not internal this is the im saying you and i would have agreement or understanding right as what is on the internal issues and on you know. Protecting lebanon against the aggressions from is a bad bet as for. But let me tell you see it affecting your own donors and let me tell you let me tell you this has to be clear our positioning off lebanon on we wanted to be in good terms with all its friendly countries we dont want lebanon to be to be put on an axis votes and that axis. And other terms we are adopting the policy of disassociating lebanon and. Keeping get away from the problems of the region not putting in the problems of the region and the interventions of each of the and International Powers in to the country we cannot afford to have this lebanon as of the country who wants to be to have friendly relations with everybody. This is our nature and we can not we cannot pay the price of the confrontations that are being held regionally and internationally these lines of confrontations crossing our country is something we cannot bear do you have a nother line of confrontation possibly on the horizon with israel because we know that lebanon has a maritime dispute with israel extending along the edge of its Southern Energy blocks particularly block 9 is that contentious due to disputed waters so drilling for oil and gas we understand is set to begin next year but in the absence of any successful mediation whats at stake here for lebanon and do you see a confrontation on the horizon you know my position is clear on this i have always been advocating on solving that issue through diplomacy and International Laws and thats why i accepted the mediation made by the United States under the supervision of the United Nations to have a good team in tone on these borders preserving the rights of each country and i believe this can be in the porch for more stability and prosperity in the region instead of being a source of conflict gas and oil lebannon should be a source of stability and peace not the source of another confrontation if we respect the International Force and this is the basis on which we built our Foreign Policy and lebanon again has never. Israel never know its always their aggression from from. Israel and we hope that on that issue we can turn the positive and 2 more questions and then were done the International Community is promising aid as you know that is conditional on the formation of a new government in lebanon as foreign minister what is your message to the International Community you know i believe every reform that is needed by the country shouldnt be called dition but by us we should accept that because it is over to meet at his request we accept any aid if it does not condition politically but when it is. Reforms that we need of which we are convinced we have no problem finally we need to put the country on the path of preforms if this is pressured by a lot of people through the most ratios and protesters thats good thats better if its conditions or pressure if we are pressured by the National Community to do neither the reforms no problem of this is helpful but we dont want to impose on our country in the recipe is. Not succeed and our country or that you know those. Preprepared recipe is that can work on other parts of the wards and can be imposed on us we want something that suits our economy thats what our society. And why not accept it and just finally on a personal note foreign minister. Before the protest erupted some had been touting you as possibly lebanons next president i dont know if you had heard that at all but do you have president ial ambitions or are you concerned about your future as a politician as a result of the uprising in the again this is not the moment for that this is not a priority this has never been a priority i think that we have to save the republic better than thinking of the presidency of the republic. Public by itself is in danger to know so this is the priority no and i think we have. The mentality that i did this. The openness to save the public we are open to everybody. We know what we should do and we are aware of the people and we will unite very solemnly to have the struggle stopped for saving the country its its a country that is paying for the mistakes of everybody around us you know and a lot but i think would be saved by it by its friends and the 1st thing to do is to stop that interventions and i would accompany. Not to allow the libyan leader is to intervene and other affairs writes foreign minister thank you very much pleasure to speak with you thank you. After years of overgrazing the damage caused to the precious cross. Is being revised with one of the worlds biggest conservation projects. Theyre pretty emblematic of the patagonians out if their fault and theyre like this and. Then you know that the system is coming back and that they feel no threats or your eyes are. On al jazeera. Journalists. From the aljazeera london broil cost center to special guests in conversation this is the chance to stop the revolution unprompted uninterrupted we need to do away with the way evil because it stops a conversation where should we get to pull its own meat can be this is the beginning of friendship this is the beginning of love of those who are getting somewhere we can really break through the barriers studio unscripted on aljazeera. The story of love family and freedom go into my living years or you are at school we heard the sound of large explosions. And the hardships faced in captivity they came for me at midnight they told me to leave my son i said how can i raise my saw so much pain in the eyes of the other female prisoners. Pricing. On aljazeera. Investigative journalism you heard of. The local experts in discussion. Of the deal and you disagree with that deal because of the terrible twos the worst of all it was brought to us what you want to stories from. Open your eyes to an alternative view of the world today you have to rethink pretty much everything thank you for talking to aljazeera the very programs to inspire you. This is 0. Youre watching the news hour live from the headquarters in doha im daddy navigator coming up in the next 60 minutes boeing is suspending production if its troublesome 737 max aircraft in the wake of 2 fatal crashes. 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