Berri to Boost Dialogue

Local Editor

In an interview with al-Akhbar Newspaper, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri deliberated five major stances in the recent political crisis and based its solutions on dialogue.

Berri expressed optimism after his meeting with March 14 MPs, but refrained from further details so it won't be wasted on political deliberations and reactions. The five points are as follows:
1- The first point Berri discussed was summarized in the phrase, "Whether the government remains or not is not a sacred matter." Berri then accentuated, "Walid Jumblatt and I wanted a government of national unity, however, others have another type in mind," underscoring, "whether it was our idea of a government or theirs, none can be met without dialogue and deliberation."

2- Berri had distinguished the confusion between the national dialogue table held in Baabda pertinent to the defense strategy, and his call to solve the political boycott enforced after General Wissam al-Hassan's assassination. He further stressed on dialogue to solve the "political paralysis occurred and negotiate all files such as the governmental issue, and the electoral law."

3- Moreover, Berri had held on to dialogue initiatives proudly, highlighting his support for Jumblatt's initiative and any other similar initiative. Berri stated that Jumblatt, "considers the Baabda Declaration to be adequate for a dialogue declaration." He added, in light of the current events in Tripoli, that the self-disassociation policy from the Syrian events is not being applied, and he further appealed to grasp and not lose hope of the initiative.

4- Furthermore, Berri spoke of the electoral law, clearly stating that, "My personal stance as Head of the Amal Movement is that Lebanon should adopt a proportional electoral law, but if there was a Christian consensus on the electoral law, I don't necessarily support it yet I don't oppose it either."

5- On another note, Berri considered the necessity of Parliamentary committees reopening, and expressed hope regarding the March 14 encounter, expecting its results to boost readiness for the reopening of parliamentary committees and discuss the electoral law and other files. He concluded, "We in Lebanon have a real opportunity to boost our immunity but we unfortunately take it for granted."


Source: al-Akhbar Newspaper, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org