The New Trick of the Ruling Coalition

The New Trick of the Ruling Coalition
Promise - 28/12/2006



Berri struggles to revive dialogue process.




A March 14 Forces parliamentary delegation handed Speaker Nabih Berri a
petition on Wednesday to try Lebanon's president for breaching the
Constitution when he refused to call for by-elections to replace an MP in
Parliament.
The petition was signed by twenty-eight MPs accusing Emile Lahoud of
violating the Constitution when he refused to sign a draft decree declaring
a January 14 election in the Metn region to fill the vacuum left by Industry
Minister and MP Pierre Gemayel's assassination in a northern Beirut suburb
on November 21.
The petition was prepared by the Phalange Party, headed by Gemayel's father
and former President Amin Gemayel.
"We have prepared on behalf of the Phalange Party and with the support of
our colleagues from the March 14 Forces this petition hoping it will find
its legal and constitutional way as soon as possible," said Phalange MP
Antoine Ghanem.
The petition demands holding a hearing to examine what the March 14 Forces
MPs describe as the president's violation of the Constitution and to refer
the president to the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and
Ministers.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Cabinet sent Lahoud the draft decree earlier
this month but the president has not signed it, saying the Cabinet is
unconstitutional and any decisions it takes are illegitimate.
Lahoud's press office said earlier this month the president is not against
holding by-elections in Metn but that he believes the Cabinet has lost its
constitutionality after six ministers resigned in November.
According to the Constitution, Lahoud needs to sign a draft decree
announcing elections and publish it in the official gazette one month before
the determined date.
An opposition petition was also handed to Berri Wednesday, demanding the
trial of Siniora and his ministers for violating the Constitution and refer
them to the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers for
signing international accords that fall under the jurisdiction of the
president.
It also called to try them for failing to present the 2006 budget on time
and in the case of Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa, who withdrew his
resignation after Gemayel was killed.
Sabaa resigned on February 5, but his resignation was never accepted.
Amid this petition war between the opposition and the government, sources
close to the speaker told the Central News Agency that Berri is holding
numerous meetings and consultations with different leaders to prepare for a
new initiative that will call for the resumption of national dialogue.
The sources said Berri has deputized some of his top aides to hold talks
with the opposition and the March 14 Forces in an attempt to further develop
the proposal before he unveils it.
As the holidays draw to an end, and with them the "truce" Arab League chief
Amr Moussa secured before leaving Beirut last week at the end of an
unsuccessful round of talks with the rival political camps, many are still
wondering whether the opposition will escalate its campaign next week as
threatened.
Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil told The Daily Star, the opposition has yet to
meet and take decisions regarding future actions.
Free Patriotic Movement MP Ibrahim Kanaan said the anti-government
protests - which started on December 1 - are not the reason behind the
national debt and they were a reaction to poor policies and strategies that
paralyzed the country.



Source: The Daily Star, 28/12/2006.


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