IRELAND'S HONORARY consul in Beirut says he will fight any attempt to remove him from his post following controversy over public comments he made describing the previous Lebanese government as "illegal and unconstitutional".
Khaled Daouk, a prominent Lebanese businessman, told The Irish Timeslast night he remains honorary consul contrary to reports published in two Sunday newspapers.
One report claimed he had tendered his resignation on Friday, while another claimed he had been sacked.
Mr Daouk, who has been Ireland's honorary consul in Lebanon since 1988 and "honorary consul general" since 1995, confirmed that he had been made aware of the Government's concern about his remarks during a recent meeting in Beirut with Ireland's Ambassador to Egypt, Gerard Corr. "I know they may sack me if I don't resign but I will fight this because I believe I have done nothing wrong and I have nothing to hide. I will not give up," he said. "After 20 years as honorary consul, it is regrettable that it has come to this."
A member of an opposition group led by former prime minister Salim al Hoss, Mr Daouk confirmed he had branded Lebanese premier Fouad Siniora's government as "unconstitutional" following the resignation of several of its members, including Hizbullah representatives, in 2006.
"I said it was not feasible for the government to continue in such circumstances," he added. A new national unity cabinet was formed last week.
Mr Daouk claimed his comments had been "distorted and exaggerated" and rejected reports highlighted by Fine Gael that he had referred to Mr Siniora as a "Zionist spy".
"That is incorrect, it is not true. Mr Siniora is a friend of mine. I received an honour from him in 2006," he said.
Last month, Fine Gael's foreign affairs spokesman Billy Timmins urged Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin to remove Mr Daouk from his position, describing his comments as "unacceptable".
"The honorary consul general has also been supporting the opposition in local newspapers and on television . . . No honorary consul should act in such a manner and Mr Daouk's comments are incendiary and untrue," Mr Timmins said at the time.
Mr Daouk claims he was not warned that taking such a public political stand was incompatible with his role as honorary consul.
"No one told me that I should not interfere with politics. They [the Department of Foreign Affairs] have known of my association with Salim al Hoss for some time," he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "We are currently in consultation with Mr Daouk as to how best to resolve the situation. We expect the situation to be resolved in the near future."