Berri Calls for Dialogue that Ends Political Paralysis

Speaker Nabih Berri said Friday he was calling for a dialogue among Lebanon's bickering officials to resolve the gap that widened between the March 8 majority alliance and the March 14 opposition coalition in the aftermath of the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan.

Berri told al-Akhbar newspaper published on Friday that his call for dialogue is aimed at resolving the country's political crisis that erupted after the killing of al-Hasan in a car bomb explosion in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.

Following al-Hasan's murder, the opposition boycotted all parliamentary activity and called for the formation of a new salvation government. It also said it would not attend the national dialogue at Baabda palace before the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet.

The dialogue should find ways to end “the paralysis of political productivity in the country and discuss possible solutions to several issues including the government and the electoral law,” Berri said.

According to the speaker, this type of dialogue should not be mixed with the all-party talks that President Michel Suleiman has been calling for to discuss the country's defense strategy.

Berri reiterated that the formation of a new government can't take place without dialogue.

It is not something “sacred” to hold onto or change the cabinet, he said.

Berri told al-Akhbar that from the beginning he was calling for the formation of a national unity government. But “others have other ideas on the type of government.”

“In every part of the world when there is a suggestion on government change, discussion and dialogue take place around it,” he added.