Berri Condemns Blocking of Roads, Says May 15 Session Aims to 'Avoid Vacuum'
Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday condemned the blocking of the country's key roads at the hands of protesting truck owners and noted that the May 15 legislative session is aimed at “avoiding lethal vacuum.”
“Speaker Berri was dismayed and he condemned the blocking of roads today at the hands of truck owners, while also renewing his stance on the stone crushing and sand mining sites that have 'defaced nature and harmed the environment',” MPs quoted Berri as saying during his weekly Ain el-Tineh meeting with lawmakers.
Truck owners blocked several key roads across Lebanon on Wednesday to protest Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq's decision to shut down sand mining and stone crushing sites.
Some media reports have accused Berri of having a hand in the several street protests that the country witnessed this week, linking them to the parliament speaker's tensions with President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement.
As for the stalled electoral law, the MPs said Berri “does not support” the so-called qualification electoral system that has been proposed by FPM chief Jebran Bassil.
Berri “has prepared several formats for discussion, including the one that is inspired by the constitution and calls for the election of a parliament under the proportional representation system and the creation of a Senate,” the lawmakers added.
“We do want extension (of parliament's term) and we have said this from the very beginning and we repeat it now, but we also want to protect the country and state institutions from collapse and we have sought and are still seeking the approval of a new electoral law,” Berri added.
“The May 15 session is aimed at avoiding lethal vacuum and we hope the ongoing contacts and efforts will lead to an agreement on a new law,” he went on to say.
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