Telecoms Committee Fails to Form Investigation Team on 3G Network

Local Editor

The parliamentary media and telecommunications committee failed to agree on forming a specialized technical team to investigate and determine what is on the second floor of the Telecoms Ministry building which around 400 Internal Security Forces members (ISF) took over during last week's incident.

The Loyalty to the resistance parliamentary bloc member and head of the committee MP Hassan Fadallah said during a press conference after a committee session at parliament on Monday that the failure was a result of a dispute which erupted between the committee members over who has the authority to appoint an Ogero Telecom member in the technical team.
He further elaborated that Telecommunications Minister in the caretaker government Charbel Nahhas insisted that he has the authority to make the appointment, adding that "A final decision has not been made to form the team because of the dispute over it," he added.

"This issue is merely technical and scientific, not political we will stay in the parliament and we will discuss the issue with the Speaker Nabih Berri," Fadlallah explained underscoring "We need to know the truth about this 3G network, and for whom does it operate?"

Fadlallah highlighted that the discussions focused on who should be held responsible for the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau "rebellion" against the Interior and Telecommunications Ministers.

The committee members also centered on whether OGERO had committed a violation in installing the third GSM network, in addition to the functioning of the network and for whom it works for.
"An investigation will be launched in all the aspects of the case even if it means holding another session for the parliamentary telecommunications committee," Fadlallah said. "We want to know the truth behind the network," he stressed. "Nahhas should form the technical team," he added.

Moreover, Fadlallah stressed it is no longer acceptable that everyone behave on their own as if no punishment exists. He reiterated that "the MPs during the telecoms committee session discussed all the dimensions related to this issue, and that there has been a follow up on the legal aspect related to the Security apparatuses.
Also concerning the Liban Telecom network, Fadlallah said "despite our political standpoint, several Minutes of the Cabinet's decision in 2007 prevails, for some say that the Chinese network is of the Ministry's responsibility while another one says it is under OGERO's control, and the division prevails."

On his part, Nahhas, said after the meeting that the main issue was the presence of armed forces on the floor where the equipment was stored, without the knowledge or approval of the telecoms or interior ministries. He added that no decision has been made regarding the use of the Chinese network and that the equipment was still being tested to see if it worked.

Last Thursday, a dispute erupted at the Telecoms Ministry where some 400 equipped members from the Internal Security Forces' Information Branch banned caretaker government Telecoms Minister Charbel Nahhas from entering the second floor of the building attached to the ministry in Adlieh, Beirut.