Aoun, Hizbullah Hold Talks to End FPM Dispute with Berri

by Naharnet Newsdesk 08 July 2012, 08:25

Contacts are ongoing between Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Hizbullah in order to resolve the MP’s dispute with Speaker Nabih Berri ahead of Monday’s cabinet session, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

Sources close to Aoun said that the contacts have been taking place away from the media spotlight, with the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper revealing that Energy Minister Jebran Bassil held “a lengthy meeting” with Hizbullah Liaison and Coordination Officer Wafiq Safa.

The meetings however did not include any officials representing Berri.

Aoun’s sources told al-Hayat: “We are not seeking to escalate the situation.”

“We will decide whether to end the boycott in the next 24 hours, perhaps on Monday morning before the cabinet session,” they revealed.

Cabinet is set to convene on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, sources close to the speaker have expressed their “disappointment” with Aoun and Bassil’s criticism over his management of parliament, saying: “If it had not been for AMAL and Hizbullah, Bassil would have never been appointed energy minister and Aoun would not have acquired ten ministries.”

Sources close to Hizbullah also criticized Aoun for describing the party as a “spectator” in the current dispute with the speaker.

They ruled out the possibility however of Aoun maintaining his boycott.

Parliament’s endorsement of the Electricite Du Liban workers’ bill last Monday caused a March 8 coalition rift between the FPM on one side and Hizbullah and Speaker Nabih Berri’s AMAL movement on the other.

The draft-law’s approval led Christian lawmakers from both the March 8 and March 14 alliances to boycott the second day of the parliamentary session after they claimed that the employment of the workers would lead to the underrepresentation of Christians in state institutions.

The dispute also led to the suspension of the two cabinet sessions this week.

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