Berri Hails Calm in Aftermath of STL Indictment but Expects More Accusations Soon

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that Beirut was as calm as Norway’s capital Oslo when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon handed General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza a copy of the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Sunday, Berri said that Shiites proved their “commitment to the instructions of the political and religious leaderships and were not shocked by the accusations against the four people.”

He was referring to the arrest warrants issued by the STL against four Hizbullah members on Thursday.

Berri did not rule out “the possibility of widening the circle of accusations in the next few days.” He did not give further details.

“Things remained normal in (Beirut’s) southern suburbs and the fireworks were only aimed at celebrating the success of some students in official exams,” Berri said.

The speaker also hailed the reaction of the Sunnis, saying “the residents of Tariq al-Jadida in the capital don’t give importance to extremist voices coming from any side.”

“The alertness of most leaderships, in addition to the positive message sent by PM (Najib) Miqati to the Lebanese" contributed to the calm on the streets, he said.

Berri told An Nahar that the date of the release of the indictment was aimed at pressuring Miqati’s cabinet and taking advantage of the crisis in Syria.

While admitting that the reaction of some parties within the March 14-led opposition was “reasonable,” the speaker said that the indictment gave fresh impetus to the coalition in its battle against the government.

When told that the opposition was gearing up to turn parliamentary sessions to discuss the cabinet’s policy statement into a heated debate next week, Berri said: “Parliament is the natural place for discussions and political reactions. It will regain its usual vitality.”