Berri Defends his 'Roadmap' as Only Way to Emerge from 'Swamp'

Speaker Nabih Berri has expressed relief that his new “roadmap” to end Lebanon's political crisis had received positive reaction from the people but said it was still early for politicians to have their say on it.

In remarks to two newspapers published on Monday, Berri said: “I am very satisfied with the people's positive reaction.”

“We have carried out surveys on my initiative and the results were more than good,” he said.

Berri warned that the alternative to what he called his roadmap was “leaving the country drown in a swamp.”

On Saturday, the speaker called for the resumption of national dialogue at Baabda palace for a period of at least five consecutive days to discuss the form and policy statement of the future cabinet, revive talks on a new electoral law, and support the military to deal with arms in the northern city of Tripoli and salvage the eastern Bekaa Valley and the northern border with Syria from the “chaos of arms and gunmen.”

The initiative also includes a call to address a national defense strategy, a thorny issue that hasn't been resolved in the past years over differences on Hizbullah's arms.

But Berri told the dailies that it was early for politicians to judge his initiative. He revealed that he only received a phone call from Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati who had a positive reaction to it.

As for the March 14 alliance, it has so far cautiously dealt with the initiative, he said, adding that some of its members have expressed relief on the proposal.

Berri denied that he was seeking to diminish the role played by President Michel Suleiman by calling for the discussion of the new government's form.

The discussion on the form and policy statement of the cabinet “does not annul the role played by the president and the premier-designate in forming the government,” he said.

On Sunday, An Nahar daily quoted an al-Mustaqbal official as saying that Berri “cut the road on the president who was a pioneer in inviting” for such a national dialogue.

Berri “confiscated the constitutional authorities of the president that enable him along with the Prime Minister-designate to form the government,” he said.

But the speaker stressed that the importance of his initiative lied in calling for an open dialogue for a limited time to organize the differences between the March 8 and March 14 alliances and confront critics who accuse the national dialogue members of buying time.

He also said that unlike Suleiman's call for all-party talks, his initiative is based on a roadmap that covers all controversial issues.