Berri Slams Letter of Former Presidents and PMs: They Forgot Israel's 1978-2006 Wars

W460

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday criticized a letter sent to the Arab Summit by five former presidents and premiers of Lebanon, accusing them of “forgetting” about Israel's wars and attacks on Lebanon.

“No one of those who sent it is boycotting the president. To the contrary, they're seeing him more than we're seeing him, so what necessitated showing Lebanon in this image?” Berri asked during his weekly meeting with lawmakers in Ain el-Tineh.

“A day later, I read the draft statement of the Arab foreign ministers in newspapers and I found it to be more merciful than our statement against ourselves,” the speaker added.

Told by some MPs that several Arab summits had endorsed Lebanon's “army-people-resistance equation”, Berri noted that “13 Arab summits endorsed the army-people-resistance equation and the liberation of the South.”

“But it seems that these people have forgotten what happened in the South in the years 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996, 2000 and 2006 and the martyrs, wounded and massive destruction caused by the Israeli wars and attacks,” the speaker went on to say.

The letter was sent to the Arab Summit by former presidents Michel Suleiman and Amin Gemayel and ex-PMs Tammam Salam, Najib Miqati and Fouad Saniora. It stresses the importance of Lebanon's commitment to U.N. resolutions, especially Resolution 1701, and tackles controversial issues such as Hizbullah's arms, the Baabda Declaration, Lebanon's dissociation policy, the state's authority over its territory and foreign interference in the Syrian crisis.

Several officials have voiced dismay over the letter and accused the former presidents and premiers of bypassing the country's president and premier.

“There is a train moving forward in Lebanon and those who want to board it are welcome, or else let them stay in their places,” said Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday when asked about the letter. He stressed that the president and the prime minister are the ones representing Lebanon at the summit.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq for his part described it as a “national sin,” saying “no one should send a statement to the Arab League's general secretariat about a Lebanese dispute.”

“Let no one try to lecture us about Arabism, Hizbullah's arms or the Iranian policies,” Mashnouq added.

Gemayel defended the move on Tuesday, saying the letter aimed to "strengthen the Lebanese position."

"Is it a crime to talk about the Baabda Declaration?" he wondered.

Comments 2
Thumb Southern...... 29 March 2017, 17:49

we have to ask who was behind this initiative.... the petrodollar KSA is playing dirty!

Default-user-icon FreeLebanon (Guest) 29 March 2017, 21:13

Yeah, you caused more harm to Lebanon than Israel. #Fact