Berri Cancels Parliamentary Session Set to Welcome Armenian President
Speaker Nabih Berri cancelled on Friday a parliamentary session scheduled for next week, during which Armenian President Serzh Sargysyan was planned to address MPs.
“As several ministers and fellow lawmakers are attending the ceremony of appointing Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi as a cardinal at the Vatican, the session on November 27 has been cancelled,” Berri said in a statement.
Pope Benedict XVI will appoint on Saturday al-Rahi and five other non-European prelates as cardinals at St. Peter's Basilica.
The speaker instead invited lawmakers to attend a lunch banquet in honor of Sargysyan held at Ain al-Tineh.
He explained that the invitation is “personal.”
Sargysyan is due to arrive in Lebanon on November 27 on a three-day official visit.
Sharp differences surfaced recently between the March 14 coalition and Berri after the opposition accused the speaker of luring it to attend parliamentary sessions despite vows by the coalition to boycott all legislative activity.
The alliance rejected attending the session and another one planned to show solidarity with the Palestinian people against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The opposition decided to boycott parliamentary activities after the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in October.
The alliance accuses the Syrian regime of being behind the murder and blames Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet for covering the crime.
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