Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, receive this afternoon at Ain al-Tineh Palace the Australian Ambassador to Lebanon, Andrew Barnes, where the general situation in Lebanon and the region and bilateral relations between the two countries were reviewed.

The Speaker later discussed the political situation and field developments in the south in light of Israel’s continued aggression against the Gaza Strip and Lebanon’s southern border towns and villages during his meeting with former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Interior Elias Murr, in the presence of MP Michel Murr.

On emerging, Murr said that talks with the Parliament Speaker focused on three main issues, certainly the situation in the south and the continued Israeli violations of Lebanese territory and the rules of engagement of an aggression that everyone hopes will not expand further, as the situation cannot tolerate it at all levels.

Murr added that the second issue tackled during today’s encounter with the House Speaker was the va
cuum in the leadership of the Lebanese Army. He said: ‘As you know, I was in the Defense Ministry for nine years and I know the risk of such vacuum if it occurs during peacetime, so how about if we are in a situation of war…?! For this reason, Speaker Berri confirmed that he will do what is necessary so there will be no vacuum in the army leadership.’

The former minister continued to indicate that the third topic featuring high in his talks with the House Speaker was the vacuum in the presidency of the republic. He said: ‘The huge problem is the internal conflict, specifically the Christian-Christian conflict, which we are all suffering from…Speaker Berri is also suffering from it…Amidst such prevailing conditions, we ought to have been immune, to have a president, a government, security apparatuses, and an army…Today we are a country without a head!’

In response to a news correspondent’s question about UN Resolution 1701 and the deployment of the Lebanese army on the border, Murr replied: ‘I am one
of those who drafted this resolution when we went to Rome and worked on it, which is considered to this day to have created interest in Lebanon because there are more than thirty countries within the UNIFIL force operating in the south under it… At that time, some blamed us for this agreement claiming it had loopholes, but this ensured security protection for the country…Amending the 1701 would mean destroying it…This is a very dangerous thing and we should not think about it. Implementing 1701 is something else that we are committed to as Lebanese, and certainly the government, as we see and hear, and the parliament is also committed to 1701, but amending it is a service to Israel!’

In response to another question about Speaker Berri’s position on this matter, Murr said that he is committed to 1701 in full but did not go into more details, adding, ‘I say let us implement 1701 and that is enough.’

Asked about his opinion on the real risk of a war extension, Murr said: “I have confidence that those who
are dealing with the southern issue – the Lebanese army, the government, Speaker Berri, and the resistance on the ground – have sufficient awareness so that we do not get there.”

Later in the afternoon, Speaker Berri chaired a meeting of the Parliament Bureau, in the presence of his deputy, MP Elias Bou Saab, the Secretaries of the Parliament Council, Hadi Abou Al-Hosn and Alain Aoun, the Commissioners, MPs Michel Moussa, Karim Kabbara, and Hagop Pakradounian, and the Parliament’s Secretary-General, Adnan Daher.

After the meeting, MP Bou Saab said that the Parliament Bureau studied today the draft agenda of the general assembly that will be held this week, including all draft and proposed laws completed by the parliamentary committees.

Asked about the issue of the Army Chief’s mandate extension, Bou Saab considered that ‘the solution is still available for the government to carry out a legal step, and efforts are still underway to reach the best solution.’

It is to note that the Speaker has called for a l
egislative session to study the projects and proposed laws completed by the committees, to be held at 11:00 a.m. upcoming Thursday.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon