“There are draft laws waiting to be settled,” Berri told As Safir

He was referring to the international resolutions that Lebanon was committed to honor and implement including the resolution that deals with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon ( STL) .

“Why do you want [former Prime Minister Rafik] Hariri’s blood to go in vain? Will you tell the Lebanese people that you will ‘in principle’ follow up on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon?”

Houri called on Tuesday for early parliamentary elections and said that he will not grant Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet his vote of confidence.

Awar
MP Fadi al-Aawar who was elected on Hezbollah’s electoral list in Metn region noted that the Lebanese have uncovered the truth in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rashid Karami and the head of the National Liberal Party Dany Shamoun, but justice was not achieved.

“The cabinet has presented a comprehensive statement,” he added.

Abi Nasr

Free Patriotic Movement MP Nehmatallah Abi Nasr noted that the new government encompasses a number of factions and several challenges are awaiting it to rectify the mistakes that have marred the Lebanese system since the Taef Accord.

“The current cabinet pledged in its policy statement to implement development in all regions and this is what the governments that followed the Taef, especially the Siniora and Hariri cabinets, failed to do,” he noted.

He granted Mikati’s government his vote of confidence.

Farhat
Hezbollah MP Bilal Farhat stated that the government was formed after long debates, succeeding in overcoming international pressures that sought to impede its establishment.

“Despite the obstacles, the cabinet was formed through a complete Lebanese effort,” he stressed.

Fares
Syrian Social Nationalist Party MP Marwan Fares said : “There is evidence indicating that STL is politicized and serves the United States and Israel. ” He demanded that the government should withdraw the Lebanese judges from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and halt its funding.

“The STL was formed unduly and was not approved by former President Emile Lahoud,” Fares also said.

“We in the SSNP know that the Resistance is the path toward liberating Palestine. We stand by the Resistance and its arms,” he also said, adding that his party grants the new cabinet its vote of confidence.

De Freige

March 14 MP Nabil De Freige said that he is convinced that Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet will not be “loyal” to Lebanon’s international commitments.

De Freige said that not abiding by international commitments may lead to economic sanctions against Lebanon. “Can Lebanon bea such sanctions?” he asked.

Mikati’s cabinet was not formed through democracy, the MP also said, asking: “Was the right man assigned to the right position in this cabinet?”

March 8 resigned from Saad Hariri’s cabinet and formed the current cabinet to put an end to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), he added.

“The expression ‘in principle’ in the ministerial statement shows March 8’s real intentions. This is why we say that what we are witnessing today raises suspicion and anxiety.”

March 14 MP Atef Majdalani questioned the credibility of the March 8 coalition, of which the cabinet is comprised.

“How can the MPs discuss the ministerial statement while the group dominating the government has lost its credibility, does not respect its commitments and has intimidated people with its weapons?” he asked

“The ministerial statement threatens, intimidates and warns against dealing with international justice,” Majdalani added.

The MP also said “our majority is generated from the people through democratic means , while your majority [March 8] is generated by the forceful use of your weapons against people.”

Hobeish
March 14 MP Hadi Hobeish said: “This government is against the international community and is going to exclude Lebanon from the Arab community .”

Hobeish asked Mikati about his intentions in replacing the expression “cooperating with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)” with the expression “following its work” in the ministerial statement.

He also questioned the security forces’ ability to preserve stability in the presence of non-state arms, in reference to the weapons of Hezbollah.

Ammar
Hezbollah bloc MP Ali Ammar stressed on Tuesday that the Americans and Israelis are Lebanon’s only enemies, reassuring the March 14 camp that they are not considered as enemies of the March 8 camp.

“Since day one, the Resistance was subject to these enemies’ attempts to eliminate the weapons,” he remarked.

“While listening to all these speeches, I began to wonder, has Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the son of Tripoli, become a member of Hezbollah without my knowledge?” he asked in reference to March 14 MPs’ criticism of Mikati and the government policy statement.

Addressing MP Marwan Hamadeh, he said: “The July 2006 war was aimed at executing the Resistance, but it failed. It did not fall for the traps of strife that were set up for it.” He was referring to Hezbollah’s war with Israel

“Had the Resistance been destroyed, the STL would not have been formed, and an indictment would not have been issued,” he claimed and concluded his speech by granting the cabinet his vote of confidence.

Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned the parliamentary session on ministerial statement until 6 p.m.

Only 58 MPs attended the session . For the quorum to be met at least 65 MPs should attend ( half the 128 member parliament plus one ).

Parliamentary sources told al Jumhourya newspaper that Berri will be issuing invitations for a June 22 session if the quorum will not be met on June 15 and will continue to do so every following week until the quorum is met .

PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt and members of his bloc ( total 7 ) and PM designate Najib Miqati and his Tripoli allies, MPs Ahmed Karami and Mohammed Safadi boycotted the session as per their announcement last week.

Jumblatt proposed a solution to the June 8 parliamentary session Al Hayat newspaper reported early Wednesday.

His proposal call for giving priority to the issue of extending the term of Central bank Governor Riad Salameh. Jumblatt wants this issue to be the first on the agenda instead of being number 36 out of 49. In such a case he and his bloc members will attend and will leave as soon as the bill on the term for Salameh is voted on.

Al Hayat predicted that Berri will not accept Jumblatt’s proposal because as soon as the PSP leader leaves the parliament with the members of his bloc it will lead to the loss of meeting quorum and therefore he cannot continue with the legislative session, knowing that PM designate Nagib Mikati and his bloc members will also boycott the session.

Before the planned session, a meeting was held at Berri’s office which was attended by , PM designate Najib Miqati, MPs Michel Aoun, Walid Jumblatt, Suleiman Franjieh, Mohammed Raad, Talal Arslan and Assaad Hardan.

Following the meeting Berri tried to justify his call for a parliamentary session and renewed his attacks against March 14 and the Cedar Revolution.

He accused the March 14 “Cedar Revolution” of “attempting to thwart parliamentary initiatives” .

“The Cedar Revolution takes a step forward to hold us many steps back by insisting to monopolize powers and by foiling the initiatives taken in parliament,” Berri said during a press conference he held at the parliament building in Nejmeh Square.

He said that convening parliament before forming a new cabinet headed by Mikati is constitutional.

“The constitution notes that the Third Chapter determines the circumstances under which parliament can convene. Among these conditions, there is no requirement that the [caretaker] cabinet should convene,” the speaker said.

He added that the delay in the formation of the cabinet “was not a reason behind the calls to convene parliament.”

“The calls are an incentive to speed up the cabinet formation.

“Some parties are saying that we should ratify only one point on the parliamentary agenda. I do not know how they interpret matters. The session is either constitutional or not,” Berri said in response to Jumblatt’s proposal

Berri also said that he does not want to incite divisions in the country, adding that he “defies anyone” who accuses him of ratifying laws for personal gains.

Former Lebanese PM and current Future bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora said on Sunday that the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition is attempting to “make parliament take over the role of the cabinet,” adding that “such moves violate the constitution.”

“The work of the executive branch (cabinet ) and legislative branch [parliament] should be completely separate,” Siniora was quoted by National News Agency as saying.

“The announcement to convene parliament was made without even reaching an agreement between all parliamentary blocs ,” he added.

He also said that Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh’s term should be renewed. However, he added that “this issue can be handled through the cabinet and not through the parliament.”

Siniora added that Lebanese domestic problems “cannot be resolved through extremism but through the use of dialogue.”

Speaker Nabih Berri called for a parliament session on June 8 despite strong objections by some parties.

waste of time
Similarly Minister of State Jean Ogassapian said on Sunday that Berri’s call to hold a parliament session on June 8 “is nothing but a waste of time.”

“The call to convene parliament confirms even more that the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition did not have any project for the state ,” the minister told Future TV

He added that March 8 parties’ “failure and fragmentation” has been clearly shown.

Khalil attacks Siniora

Speaker Berri’s political aide, Ali Hassan Khalil, responded to Future bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora’s statement .

“ Siniora was the only one in the history of the Lebanese republic to violate the charter and constitution,” Khalil said according to the National News Agency.

The Amal MP said Siniora violated the constitution when he resumed the work of an “unconstitutional cabinet.” Khalil was referring to when Hezbollah- Amal-backed Shiite ministers resigned from the cabinet in 2006 during Siniora’s tenure as prime minister.

The former PM is the one who violated legislative authority and worked on approving financial commitments without the parliament’s approval, added Khalil.

Houri defends Siniora
March 14 MP Ammar Houri responded on Sunday to Khalil, who lashed who attacked Siniora earlier.

“It seems failure has different forms, including unjustified excessive tension and regression of political speech,” Houri said according to a statement issued by his press office.

According to observers the parliament session that Berri called for resulted in the disintegration of the new majority . The parliamentary blocs of MP Walid Jumblatt and PM Designate Nagib Mikati decided to boycott it. Jumblatt’s bloc has the decisive vote in the parliament.

The 120 people aboard the two-ship “flotilla of solidarity” included a mix of workers, athletes, lawmakers, physicians and nurses, according to the semi-official Iranian Mehr News Agency. They had left the Iranian port of Bushehr, traveled a dozen nautical miles and were approaching international waters when they were forced to return to port by the Iranian coast guard, according to Mehr News.

There was speculation that the ships, including one named Ayat al-Ghermezi after the late Bahraini dissident poet allegedly raped and murdered by security forces, were barred from entering Bahraini waters after being intercepted by Gulf warships.

Shaykh Fawwaz Bin-Muhammad Al-Khalifah, president of the Bahraini Information Affairs Authority, told Al Arabiya satellite network that the Persian Gulf states had responded to what he believed was “Iranian interference.”
“The state of Kuwait has sent naval forces to the Kingdom of Bahrain. It is participating with its sister nations in the Peninsula Shield in deterring any assault against the Kingdom of Bahrain,” Al-Khalifah said.

For weeks, Bahraini authorities have criticized Iran’s decision to dispatch the ships, claiming it was an infringement on Bahraini sovereignty. The kingdom has faced opposition from anti-government protesters since February, many of whom have been detained in a bloody crackdown of pro-democracy movements.

Nasser Al Fadhala, a former member of Bahrain’s parliament, announced Thursday that “Iran should stop interfering in our country’s issues. By sending this aid flotilla to Bahrain they are highlighting their propaganda to support those people, who failed to overthrow our regime,” according to the pro-Bahraini government Gulf Daily newspaper.

Bahraini scholar Shaykh Salah Al-Jowdir said the flotilla was an act of war and warned that anyone who tried to enter Bahraini national waters would be intercepted.

Iran’s government has tried to support Shiites in Bahrain, which until 1960 was the 14th province of Iran. According to the semi-official news agency Fars News, Iranians paying tribute to those who died in the Iran-Iraq war signed a scroll in March showing their solidarity with Bahrain’s “oppressed people.”

On Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry hosted Bahraini dissident Saeed Alshabi for a seminar addressing the uprising in Bahrain during which he accused western nations, Saudi and Jordanian monarchies of collaborating to suppress pro-democracy protests there.

LAT

The resignations were submitted in February by MEPs of the opposition Al Wefaq, the country’s largest Shia opposition party, in protest to the government’s violent crackdown of protesters.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives announced the decision of accepting the resignation of all MEPs affiliated with Al Wefaq. This left Bahrain’s 40-seat lower house with only 22 members, all of them Sunnis.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa directly appoints the 40 members of the upper house. In this way, there is not Shia representatives left in the government. Two-thirds of Bahrain’s population is Shiite.

The Middle Eastern country has been ruled by a 200-year-old Sunni dynasty. Social unrest began after protesters called for a “Day of Rage” on February 14 to mark the 10th anniversary of the National Action Charter, which returned the country to constitutional rule after the 1990s uprisings.

Initially, people took to the streets to demand reform and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy, but later they began to call for the removal of the royal Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa family, which has ruled the country for almost 40 years.

In mid-March, Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) troops arrived to Bahrain to help protecting the country following weeks of violent protests. King Al Khalifa said that the current state of emergency will be lifted on June 1.

Bahraini authorities have been persecuting activists and opposition in order to avoid further unrest. So far, at least 21 people have been prosecuted for organizing and participating protests which are considered a plot against the state.

According to Bahrain, the number of people in detention was listed at 400, but the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said it had received information that the figure may be higher than 1,000, while more than 50 people remain unaccounted for.
Channel 6

Sixty-six out of the 100 MPs who attended Monday’s parliamentary session abstained from voting on Article 21 of the constitution, which pertains to the legal voting age.

Jumblatt also said that the Democratic Gathering bloc decided to respect its diversity and allow its members to vote on the issue as they please.

The bloc members who are part of the Progressive Socialist Party voted with lowering the voting age, whereas the independent members abstained. (Now Lebanon)