Parliament Witnesses Gemayel-Qansou Spat, Berri Stresses Need to Pass Wage Scale
The parliament on Thursday wrapped up a plenary legislative session that spanned three days, after approving several key bills and postponing a host of draft laws, amid a heated exchange between MPs Sami Gemayel and Assem Qansou.
The legislature also decided to refer to parliamentary committees a number of urgent bills after determining that they need further debate.
At the end of the session, Speaker Nabih Berri announced that a new legislative session will be held on Wednesday and Thursday next week, following a cabinet session that will be held on Tuesday.
The speaker hoped the new legislative session will be dedicated to the new wage scale, whose decrees are expected to be finalized this Friday by the joint parliamentary committees.
Berri underlined the need to finalize the salary scale and give it priority, noting that the parliament would then start discussing the submitted draft laws on the parliamentary electoral law.
The Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, staged a central, massive sit-in on Wednesday to press for the approval of the wage scale, which was passed by Najib Miqati's government more than a year ago.
The government, however, had failed to agree on the sources of funding back then.
Meanwhile, an urgent draft law for the parliamentary elections that is based on proportional representation failed to gain the approval of the legislature.
Separately, Thursday's legislative session was marred by a verbal dispute between MPs Gemayel and Qansou over a draft law on paying compensations to the army officers who were laid off following the October 13, 1990 ouster of then army chief Michel Aoun at the hands of Syrian forces.
Qansou stressed that the law must not be only limited to the October 13 officers, but Gemayel fiercely defended the proposal, saying “these officers were incapable of defending themselves because Lebanon was under Syrian occupation.”
But Qansou hit back, noting that “continuing to describe the Syrian Arab Army during that era as an occupation army is rejected.”
“Those speaking now were in power back then, topped by the Kataeb party, and they must not use words that are bigger than them,” Qansou added.
Gemayel replied saying “we were taking part from Paris,” but the Baath Party representative stressed that “they were in the government.”
The dispute prompted Berri to demand dropping the “occupation army” phrase from the session's minutes amid Gemayel's objection.
The spat did not end with the speaker's intervention due to the interference of several lawmakers, including head of al-Mustaqbal bloc ex-PM Fouad Saniora.
Berri then referred the draft law to the joint parliamentary committees for further scrutiny, saying “the issue will be finalized within a month at the latest, because the priority of the committees is to finish the draft law of the new wage scale.”
Y.R.
S.D.B.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/125010 |