Berri Says March 8 Will Not Budge an Inch on Resistance, Calls for Agreement
Speaker Nabih Berri expressed resentment on Wednesday over the failure of the ministerial panel drafting a government policy statement to reach agreement over controversial issues, adding that March 8 coalition is holding onto the resistance clause.
“The remaining timeframe for the panel to draft the policy statement ends next week,” Berri warned in comments published in As Safir newspaper, calling on all sides to exert efforts to find common grounds.
Berri said that if the constitutional timeframe for drafting Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet's policy statement ends then he will inform “President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday morning that the cabinet is considered resigned and binding consultation must be carried out to name a new Premier.”
The constitutional deadline for the cabinet to draft it's policy statement to refer it to the parliament for confidence vote ends on March 17 as PM Salam is warning that the row over the resistance article is threatening to topple the cabinet.
The Speaker, who is Hizbullah's ally, described the debate at the panel between the political arch foes over the resistance article as a “farce.”
He stressed that the March 8 alliance will not compromise concerning the resistance.
Asked about calls for the state to control the resistance, Berri wondered if those who suggested such a proposal understand the danger of such calls.
“Israel would then have an excuse to attack the state and its headquarters... If such a proposal happened then the state and the resistance would vanish,” head of the AMAL movement pointed out.
Berri noted that if “Salam's cabinet was a national interest government then the rival parties shouldn't squander the resistance.”
On Tuesday, the ministerial committee's 10th session failed to resolve the ongoing dispute over the resistance clause.
The committee referred the issue to the cabinet, which will convene on Thursday to take the appropriate stance on the matter, said the premiership.
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