In an interview for Al-Jazeera, on Tuesday, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab expressed his conviction that Lebanon is being subjected to a blockade, explaining that since his first day in office, no international assistance has been provided to Lebanon.
“I don’t know whether this government is required to be besieged, or is Lebanon to be besieged and restricted at the present time,” he said.
Diab went on to point out that his government faced, within its 6 months of operation, more calamities than any government would face in 6 years.
He stressed that his government took serious steps to reform the country at all levels and made decisions to confront corruption and protect the funds of the Lebanese people.
However, he came to discover that the rampant administrative and financial corruption in Lebanon is “stronger than the state” and “cannot be faced easily.”
The official, who resigned last year in the aftermath of the August 4 Beirut Port explosion, revealed that his government had prepared a plan to retrieve the money that was smuggled outside Lebanon.
The plan gained international admiration, according to him, but was not implemented.
In regards to government formation, Diab affirmed that Lebanese political powers do not want a new government to see the light, saying that if these powers willed it, a government would be formed in the morning.
