Berri, Jumblat Await March 14 Rally to Make Policy Statement Proposal
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat have decided to wait for a rally organized by the March 14 alliance on Friday to make their proposal to resolve the policy statement deadlock, media reports said.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam called for a cabinet meeting on Thursday to take an “appropriate decision” on the dispute between March 14 and the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp over the resistance clause after a seven-member committee failed in its tenth meeting to resolve the row.
The government is not likely to resort to voting during the session that will be chaired by President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace despite the looming deadline for the cabinet to approve the political blueprint and refer it to parliament for a vote of confidence.
Berri has warned that when the deadline expires next Monday, Suleiman will have to call for binding parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister.
There were intense contacts between him and Jumblat on Tuesday to discuss the details of their proposal, but local dailies said that both officials decided to await the March 14 rally and hear the speeches of the alliance's officials.
The newspapers expected them to adopt a high rhetoric against March 8, which is holding onto a statement made by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil at the meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers held in Cairo on Sunday.
The closing statement of the meeting called for "the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese to liberate and recover the Shebaa Farms, the Kfarshouba Hills and the Lebanese part of the Ghajar village, and to resist any Israeli aggression or occupation through the legitimate means."
Bassil proposed it after coordinating with President Michel Suleiman and Salam.
But March 14 wants the adoption of a clause under which the resistance is put under the authority of the state.
Several alliance officials have stressed “the right of Lebanon as a state and not the right of the Lebanese to resist Israel.”
Al-Liwaa newspaper said the rally, which will be held on the ninth anniversary of the Cedar Revolution, will include speeches by Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, Phalange leader Amin Gemayel, al-Mustaqbal movement's head ex-PM Saad Hariri or al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc chief MP Fouad Saniora, and March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid.
Geagea will not attend the rally. He will address the March 14 supporters via video link, al-Liwaa said.
12 March 2014, 08:24
86
I hope M14 get reasonable and accept the formula of Bassil so we get a govenrment.
All this talk about ministerial statement is about whether we get a real cabinet or a caretaker cabinet.
We all know that HA is a milicia that cares about covering its own back. It is not a resistance. We know that. We dont need it to write it in every policy statement.
12 March 2014, 12:18
97
Popeye, you are 100% correct. But I still wonder why is it that their partisans keep following them? These two chimps will not exist one day more had it not been that they have people who idolize them, almost like worshiping them. Many years ago, old man Aoun spoke of something the Lebanese love to hear, among them that golden word called AUDIT. Audit would have barren all the rotten crooks of all the thefts and crimes they've committed, but as usual, old man Aoun is good at blabbering, he knows, audit will reach his butt too.
12 March 2014, 12:54
118
It is the lebanese political and social system that encourages and festers sectarianism. The state in its present form is built around ugly sectarian lines and when the state social systems fail, people turn for safety and refuge within their traditional sects. We all aspire and talk about modern new Lebanon, yet absent a real revolution that scraps the old values and norms. we will go and vote for the same people again and again.
12 March 2014, 13:58
143
if you don't agree with him, then by all means express your views. Why call him names? You are here to debate the article or what is really your purpose....?!
12 March 2014, 14:12
137
I dont live in Lebanon cigar,never did and probably never will coz of people like...
I used to criticize Christians that want partition, but they're right, who wants to live in a country ruled by lackeys of Khamenei and bashar...
12 March 2014, 15:17
134
I dont attack Lebanon per se, lebanese/sham soil being blessed in my religion. I attack Berri's, Jumblatts's, NasrKhamenei's lebanon, capichi ?
12 March 2014, 14:55
46
@Phoenix
I always enjoyed reading your comments. It shows me you are a wise and respectful man. Allow me though to elaborate on your above comment if I may:
There are 2 reasons as to why these 2 guys have followers
1- by stupidity and family long standing tradition. support for Joumblatt and/or Berri is imposed from father to son without allowing the younger ones to decide on their own.
2- #1 is complemented by croonism I mean " I scratch your back and you scratch mine" Favors and wasta and jobs are given to these supporters in return for their loyalty.
I am sure you understood my point ...
What we need is a grass root organization whose aim to teach the newer generation to encourage them to resist this and get the liberty to choose on their own coupled with a system designed to curtail these favors that these 2 clowns are giving to their supporters
We need to curtail their power to influence jobs, contracts etc
12 March 2014, 15:47
55
Thank you Coolmec, let's keep up the good work and make our voices heard, I am absolutely sure that there are many more people in Lebanon who share in our views. Stay blessed bro.
12 March 2014, 16:43
34
Indeed Phoenix
We need to keep going with the hope that those who share same raise their voices as well
12 March 2014, 14:56
45
In all fairness and unfortunately this system applies to all our politicians thus the existing transfer of power from father to son
Look at the Gemayels, Frangieh, Aoun, Salam to name a few
My friend you and I as well as all decent Lebanese who want to see Lebanon enjoying true democracy and pluralism have a hard and rocky road ahead but we need to start....
12 March 2014, 16:01
43
Well now, this is very rich. Jumblatt in the mix to come up with a policy statement that says what it does not say. Acrobatic prose can only come from an acrobatic pen owned by the master acrobat himself.
A policy statement that will legitimate Hezbollah to satisfy M8 while denying the legitimacy of Hezbollah operations to satisfy M14.
Sort of like the Christian dichotomy of "hate the sin, love the sinner."
12 March 2014, 17:33
22
Jumblat not taking side? Jumblat has taken all sides, but moves from one to another as the circumstances of his well being dictates (it is called siding with the strong). He is a spinner.
12 March 2014, 18:10
12
I appreciate your response, but this is where we differ.
You admire a smart spinner (even when it is to the expense of Lebanon the nation)while I admire consistency and unshaken foundations that is based on integrity, patriotism and clever execution.
12 March 2014, 18:35
22
With all respect Roary, Lebanon is so far off of the US radar screen right now as it is off of the KSA radar, that they could care less about the policy statement. In fact, all parties were put on notice back in November when they had gone 8 months at that point with no government, that soon, no one would care at all about what happened in Lebanon. KSA has Syria on its radar now and the US has Ukraine on its.
We Lebanese suffer from the condition known as Lebanoncentric Syndrome. All world events rotate around Lebanon. Well, I've got news. No the world does not rotate around Lebanon. Most of the time, it could care less.
12 March 2014, 17:29
62
If you take KSA and USA out of the equation, here is what I want: I want Suleiman term extended for one year after a new parliament is elected. That is how it was supposed to be........ The Parliament term expired last Summer, so new Parliamentary elections must happen first (keep the Chronological Order for the sake of the Constitution).
12 March 2014, 18:06
52
Yes there is another thing I want roar,
I want you to grow some dignity while debating ...... your sarcasm is a turnoff. Your comeback would have been more meaningful if you skipped the first paragraph.
12 March 2014, 19:31
00
@roar;
I keep seeing you mention the US and KSA as the ones who are deciding Lebanese potential policy. You even mention KSA's 3 billion offer to the country to aid the LAF. Not once did I read where you mentioned Iran or Syria of having any influence on decisions being made within your great country. You want to hear the Here & Now stats: Iran gives Hizthrowup and AMAL over $400 million a year (UN OCHA,Washington Post,ME Intelligence Bureau and several other sources). If we are talking about outside influences, let's be open across the board.
