Christian Lawmakers Hold Meeting to Coordinate Stances
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
A meeting between Christian lawmakers was held on Tuesday to coordinate stances regarding the latest dispute at the parliament which led them to boycott its sessions.
According to An Nahar newspaper published on Thursday, Energy Minister Jebran Bassil and MP Ibrahim Kanaan, who are loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan and Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel held talks in Bikfaya from 11:00 p.m. till 1:00 a.m.
The three parliamentary blocs decided to boycott the legislative session after lawmakers adopted a draft law proposed by the joint parliamentary committees to include all the Electricite du Liban workers in a selection process for permanent employment.
Christian lawmakers lashed out at Speaker Nabih Berri, who is the AMAL leader, arguing that around 80 percent of them belong to non-Christian sects and most of them support Berri, who is a Shiite.
Sources told An Nahar that the issue isn’t based on electoral interests, pointing out that in addition to the full-time employment of EDL contract workers the blocs reject the performance of the parliament and the cabinet.
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the meeting also tackled three key issues including introducing electronic voting at the parliament, the regulatory laws that should be proposed by the cabinet and not the parliament and the assembly’s agenda that should be set by the Parliament's Bureau Committee.
Sources told the daily that the gatherers agreed to hold successive meetings to follow up the addressed matters.
12 July 2012, 09:26
42
The current system has failed and will continue to be a failure.
Time to implement a federal system....
12 July 2012, 10:50
53
what needs to be implemented is the taef accord whereby hizbushaitan should relinquish its weapons to the state.
FT is going to ask why it is related to the above: it is only through their weapons that they are trying to change the equilibrium of the country.
it is denoted in so many actions of hizbushaitan on the ground trying constantly to make a move on land they do not own and forcing themseleves by the force of their weapons.
12 July 2012, 11:59
20
Even if hizb weapons have gone we will still have divisions on all levels.
Time to partition the country once and for all. Enough is enough.
12 July 2012, 13:34
02
What would happen to Jezzine and deir el ammar? The christain villages in the south and chouf? what about zahle, deir ahmar in the bekaa? The poor villages in akkar region that would have to live like the Taliban.
Lebanon is too small and diverse to partion. Lebanon needs a secular military dictatorship. No religion in public or state institutions.
12 July 2012, 16:18
00
ado. The thing with dictatorships is that eventually they all crash and burn, often in a bloodbath. We need a more sober and resilient reform to the political structuring of the country. What we need is an architect of Thomas Jefferson's caliber to draft the blueprint of the Third Republic.
12 July 2012, 14:48
01
FT. no one should downplay them..it is healthy for the Christian parties to coordinate their political stances when need it, that's democracy but it's time for a new political system without religion.
12 July 2012, 15:16
02
What a beautiful thing to see, I myself thought I'll never live long enough to see that happen, my fingers are crossed that there'll be many more to come and the day I see the end of internal divisions and a unified front will be the greatest day of my life and a great day for all Lebanese Christians.
12 July 2012, 16:10
01
Ma3ak ha2 ya FT!!
This is both very important and very welcome. Our community is weak and in real danger of extinction by exodus. We must, repeat must, unite and look out for each other. Please people understand this and give our politicians a chance. This has gone way too far. Is it acceptable that there are more Lebanese-born Christians outside the country than inside of it? do you understand the magnitude of this tragedy?
Please do not interpret what I'm writing as a call for Christian supremacy. We should never go down that road! We must be strong and united to insure that our community has a fair say in the affairs of the country and to bind the Christians much strongly to this land.
12 July 2012, 19:56
01
Good for them. Berri sees the end of his Syrian patronage and is trying to rush the government with as many as his hangers on as he can so that the government will pick up the costs of all of their pensions. This will bankrupt the government and amounts to a raid on the treasury conducted by Berri.
The shame is that Berri is not alone. Hezbollah is out robbing the banks. Two more got knocked over today with the bandits escaping by motorcycle, the signature of the Banjis and Hezbollah.
12 July 2012, 21:25
00
Sectarianism, confessionalism, balance of power, shifting alliances. This is a recipe for disaster. It hasn't worked in the past and won't work today. It's time to re-build the country on shared values and a common vision of a modern state. Until then, M8 + M14 = M0 FOR LEBANON. It's ironic that both M8 and M14 are sponsored by regional powers that know nothing about democracy. I'm sure that these sponsors have a vested interest in seeing Lebanon's democracy succeed. Keep cheering boys for your favorite football team. The real looser is the Lebanese citizen.
12 July 2012, 22:33
01
If we separate, we take the druze with us in a secular federal country. Druze want to live in a secular country with us. Jezzine is linked to druze land, so it stays in. Zahleh also stays with us. Der el ahmar is linkable to the cedars. My worry is Kobayyate and Marjeyoun...
If we separate the GDP of our country will be above Portugal's and Greece.
If we separate, Our passport will be respected again. We will not be on the fringe of respectable nations anymore.
If we separate we will not have to worry about HA's weapons, about salafi rise, about arab nationalism, about being kicked out of Lebanon, about liberating palestine, we will not have to suck up to hariri, we will not worry about chiites bloating our public sector, we will all pay electricity and we will all be subject to laws.
I like moslems and I like the diversity of Lebanon. But they are asking us to bend over too much...
13 July 2012, 02:04
10
wait.. this does not make any sense. aoun always says that march 14 are nothing and do not represent anyone and are thieves and foreign agents blah blah, then why is he meeting with them?
