Aoun Says 'Committed' to Judicial Decision on Seniority Decree

President Michel Aoun's office said on Monday that the President affirms commitment to the judiciary's opinion as for a controversial officers' promotion decree that triggered a spat with Speaker Nabih Berri.

“President Aoun confirms his commitment and approval of the opinion issued by related judicial authorities regarding the decree granting seniority for officers of the 1994 Session,” a statement from Aoun's media office said.

The statement added: “The judiciary is the appropriate reference to resolve the disputes arising on the legality of decrees and procedures issued by the executive authority.”

Furthermore, the statement said that “Aoun believes that the controversy over the decree has taken a different course that does not serve the national interest.”

The Aoun-Berri spat broke out after the president and the premier signed a decree granting one-year seniority to a number of officers. Berri and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil have insisted that the decree should have also carried the finance minister's signature.

Aoun and his aides have argued that the decree did not require Khalil's signature because it did not entail any “financial burden,” a point Berri and officials close to him have argued against.

Ain el-Tineh sources have meanwhile warned that the decree would tip sectarian balance in favor of Christians in the army's highest echelons.

The officers in question were undergoing their first year of officer training at the Military Academy when Syrian forces ousted Aoun’s military government from Baabda in 1990. They were suspended by the pro-Damascus authorities until 1993 before they resumed their officer training course as second-year cadets.