Parliament Q&A Session Held without Addressing Govt. Stand on Syria

The March 14-led opposition attended a question and answer session at parliament on Wednesday in its continued effort to call into task the cabinet over its decision on Syria.

The MPs included Assem Araji, Mohammed al-Hajjar, Ahmed Fatfat, and Ghazi Youssef.

Parliamentary sources told An Nahar daily that the opposition will head to the session “with all its energy.”

The sources hinted that March 14 will make every effort possible to stir the issue of Lebanon’s vote against an Arab League decision to suspend Syria’s membership, but the session took place without incident.

March 14 officials have slammed the government, mainly Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, over Lebanon’s vote in Cairo on Saturday.

Opposition MP Serge Torsarkissian told Voice of Lebanon (93.3) that March 14 will only seek to topple the government at the parliament.

“The speaker is trying to prevent us from practicing our constitutional right,” he said in reference to the alleged move by Speaker Nabih Berri to limit the session’s agenda to the seven questions that deal with pollution, an incident at an OGERO telecommunications building and other issues.

But Berri decided to make it a closed session away from the media spotlight over fears that the public will witness a heated debate that could turn into a clash between pro- and anti-government MPs.

A fight broke out in a debate between al-Mustaqbal movement official former MP Mustafa Alloush and the head of the Lebanese branch of Syria's ruling Baath party Fayez Shukur on a talkshow on MTV station late Monday.

The speaker explained however that the session remained away from the spotlight because previous question and answer sessions were never broadcast by the media.

Meanwhile, the National News Agency revealed that MP Butros Harb had confirmed that a parliamentary petition, signed by ten MPs, will be submitted to hold a session to discuss the government’s performance.