Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri issued a warning on Wednesday during his weekly Ain el-Tineh meeting with MPs over the country’s financial situation and called on political parties bickering over the Qabrshmoun incident to show “ wisdom,” stressing that he “will not allow anything that might tear up the country.”
“Everyone must seek political, security and financial stability, especially that the global financial institutions are monitoring the situation in Lebanon with some sort of cautiousness and concern,” Berri said.
Addressing the Qabrshmoun issue , the Speaker called for a “full and comprehensive reconciliation,” reassuring that “there is no need for the current panic in the country, which would dissipate once the cabinet convenes.”
Suggesting that the Cabinet should not discuss the Qabrshmoun incident without a prior agreement among the parties, Berri said “any initiative requires the consensus of all parties concerned.”
The Speaker also told the MPs that his latest initiative had made major progress and that all parties had expressed approval before it ran into a deadlock due to some obstacles .
He confirmed that he has decided to suspend his initiative and urged the political parties to show “more awareness and wisdom towards the critical situation the country is going through.”
International concern over the Qabrshmoun incident in Lebanon
British Ambassador to Lebanon Chris Rampling held talks Wednesday with Berri after which he called on all Lebanese parties to “focus on improving the economic situation.”
“We discussed political and economic developments of recent weeks, which concerned us both. Lebanon’s stability is a priority for us and I hope that all will now focus on improving the economic situation,” said Rampling after the meeting.
“The ratification by Parliament of the government’s 2019 budget was an important first step, but there is much to be done,” the ambassador added.
The United States Embassy also issued a statement on Wednesday on the the Qabrshmoun incident which said:
“The United States supports fair and transparent judicial review without any political interference. Any attempt to use the tragic June 30 event in Qabrshamoun to advance political objectives should be rejected.
The U.S. has conveyed in clear terms to Lebanese authorities our expectation that they will handle this matter in a way that achieves justice without politically motivated inflammation of sectarian or communal tensions.”
Meanwhile , the Free Patriotic Movement which is headed by Minister Gebran Bassil and which was founded by his father -in-law president Michel Aoun blasted the U.S. statement as interference in the Qabrshmoun incident
“The U.S. embassy’s interference regarding the Qabrshmoun incident is aimed at protecting a certain side,” FPM MP Hikmat Dib said in a phone interview with al-Mayadeen television.
“The U.S. embassy statement is deplorable, especially that it is interfering in a judicial affair,” Dib added.
“We believe that the picture became clearer after the U.S. embassy interfered in favor of a certain party,” the MP went on to say in a possible reference to PSP which is headed by former PM Walid Jumblatt
He also stressed that the statement will not affect the judiciary’s investigations into the incident.
FPM, and Aoun are allied with the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group. Jumblatt accuses Aoun and Bassil for attempting to fabricate and falsify a judicial file against the party, related to the Qabrshmoun incident
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