Berri Cautions against 'Federalism,' Calls for Liberation of Judiciary and Politics
Speaker Nabih Berri made a rare televised speech on Friday calling on the crisis-hit Lebanon’s government to “make deeds not words,” and face the multiple crises crippling the country.
The Speaker also cautioned against advocates of “federalism,” noting that Lebanon’s judiciary and politics must be “liberated.”
“The government must not keep waiting for the outcome of negotiations with the IMF but must start action instead of words,” said Berri in his speech marking Liberation Day, Quds Day and Eid el-Fitr.
“We warn against the voices of dissonance that began to rise in Lebanon calling for federalism as a solution to the crises,” cautioned the Speaker.
“Lebanon must generate a new political life through a new electoral system outside sectarian restrictions, one electoral constituency, and the establishment of a Senate and the liberation of the judiciary,” he stressed.
On Lebanon’s problematic electricity sector costing its treasury billions of dollars, Berri said the sector must be “liberated from mentalities of sectarian and federal quotas, and a new board of directors must be appointed, including a regulatory body.”
“We have to stop firing accusations at each other and instead start shouldering responsibilities,” he stressed.
On the money of Lebanese at banks, the Speaker emphasized that they are “sacred and a right for their owners.”
On the Palestinian cause and the “deal of teh century,” Berri said:” We support the Palestinian people and their righteous rejection for the deal of the century.”
Source: Naharnet
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