Berri: Issue of Resistance Not Up for Discussion
Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Wednesday that “the issue of resistance” against Israel is “not up for discussion.”
“AMAL Movement, the founder of Lebanese resistance, believes that the issue of resistance is not up for discussion because the (Israeli) aggression is still ongoing,” said Berri, during a mass rally held in Baalbek to mark the 33rd anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr and his two companions.
“It is unacceptable to harm the army, unless you want to get rid of the army and the resistance,” Berri added, addressing the rival March 14 camp.
“We will keep holding onto the magical recipe (army-people-resistance equation). We won’t commit to anything other than a defense strategy, because it is unacceptable that we be stripped of our weapons as Israel violates (U.N. Security Council Resolution) 1701,” the house speaker went on to say.
Berri renewed the call for national dialogue “under the umbrella of the Taef Accord, which is not a commitment to sectarianism but rather to coexistence.”
He also vowed to “seek the implementation of the Taef Accord; the formation of the committee on abolishing political sectarianism; the adoption of the laws on proportional representation and administrative decentralization; the creation of a planning ministry; the strengthening of the army, judiciary, state institutions and municipalities; and the boosting of the Lebanese expats’ role.”
Addressing the Syrian crisis, Berri said “some (in Lebanon) have established operation rooms and armed Syrian groups.”
“Syria is key to war and key to stability (in the region.) We should not get involved in the conspiracies being plotted against Syria … as a possible partitioning of Syria would pose a threat to Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey,” Berri added.
Turning to the case of the 1978 disappearance of Imam Sadr and his two companions Mohammed Yacoub and Abbas Badreddine, Berri accused Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi of assassinating “national unity, African unity and Arab unity.”
“We have told our brothers, the Libyan revolutionaries that sadness is still reigning over Lebanon due to the mystery still shrouding the case of the abduction of the imam and his two companions. We have asked them to interrogate the officials of the ousted regime and I appreciate the remarks of the NTC chief (Mustafa Abdul Jalil), who said that the Sadr case is a priority,” Berri added.
“We have asked the government to form a committee on Libya. Three years ago, a judge had issued an arrest warrant for Gadhafi, but due to the vacancies in the Judicial Council’s board, a council session was never held, that’s why we urge the government to expedite the case and the bring the criminals to justice by appointing a new Judicial Council chief,” the house speaker urged.
He noted that his AMAL Movement has been seeking “any information possible on this crime.”
“We are confident that the (Libyan) regime’s officials will be put on trial and we are yearning for the moment of truth,” said Berri.
Revered by Lebanon's Shiites as a key spiritual and political guide, Sadr vanished in 1978 amid mysterious circumstances and was last seen in Libya where he was invited by Gadhafi.
At the time, Sadr was trying to negotiate an end to the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), in which Palestinian factions were involved.
Gadhafi was believed to be shipping weapons to the Palestinians and other groups and Sadr, according to reports, was hoping to convince the Libyan leader to refrain from stoking the unrest in Lebanon.
But his visit to Tripoli along with two aides, Mohammed Yacoub and Abbas Badreddine, took a sour turn after he got into a heated argument with Gadhafi who ordered that the three men be "taken away," according to an indictment against the Libyan leader issued by Lebanese authorities.
Libyan authorities said that the three left Tripoli for Italy, which after conducting an investigation into the case denied the claims.
In 2004, the passports of Sadr and Yacoub were found in a hotel in Rome.
In August 2008, Lebanon issued arrest warrants against Gadhafi and some of his aides, accusing them of kidnapping Sadr and his companions.
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