Berri Rules Out Suleiman, Salam to Form De Facto Cabinet

Speaker Nabih Berri ruled out on Wednesday that President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam would seek to form a cabinet that would be divided equally between the political foes.

“If a de facto cabinet was formed then the resumption of the dialogue and any possible solutions to the current crises will be blocked,” Berri said in comments published in local newspapers.

He pointed out that a cabinet based on this division “cannot see the light.”

Salam is seeking to form a cabinet divided equally between the Lebanese foes and the centrists and rejects to grant the veto power to any party.

On Saturday, Salam hoped that Lebanon's political parties would not set red lines to his cabinet formation efforts despite the “pressure” that they are exerting on him after talks with Suleiman at the Baabda Palace.

Concerning the security deployment in Beirut's southern suburbs, Berri stressed that AMAL movement, Hizbullah and the residents of the area will cooperate with the security measures.

He noted that the deployment must be implemented across all the “hot zones” in the country such as the southern city of Sidon and the northern city of Tripoli.

Around 1,000 army troops and security forces deployed Monday in Dahieh where Hizbullah normally keeps a tight grip on security.

The security points were established after car bombings in the area killed 27 people on August 15 and wounded more than 50 on July 9.

Following the bombings, Hizbullah turned the southern suburbs into a fortress with guards in civilian clothes policing the streets, stopping and searching cars, and asking motorists for their identity cards.

Berri described the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York as “very important and almost rare regarding the circumstances and the regional and international developments.”