Berri Slams FPM, Bassil over Boycott and 'Dangerous' Remarks

Speaker Nabih Berri strongly criticized the Free Patriotic Movement for boycotting parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a new head of state and slammed Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil over his “dangerous” remarks.

“The key to all crises lies in speeding up the election of a president instead of attacking constitutional institutions and their leaders, and not attending attending parliamentary sessions,” Berri told his visitors on Tuesday.

“My bloc and I headed to parliament 22 times while them (the Change and Reform bloc) went only once to Nejmeh Square,” the speaker, whose remarks were published in local dailies on Wednesday, said.

The Change and Reform bloc of FPM chief MP Michel Aoun and the majority of the March 8 alliance's lawmakers have been boycotting the sessions aimed at electing a president.

The boycott has left the country without a leader since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May 2014.

“Let the Maronites agree on the name of a candidate and we will back them,” said Berri.

“I would call for a session within two hours if they (the Maronites) told me that they had reached an agreement,” the speaker stated in response to criticism by Bkirki that he hasn't been calling for a session every single day.

Berri also snapped back at Bassil, who, over the weekend, stressed “there would be no nation, republic and state without us.”

Bassil is a senior FPM official and Aoun's son-in-law.

“These are very dangerous remarks,” said Berri. “I haven't heard of such things since the (civil) war.”

The speaker urged all parties “to come to their senses rather than witnessing the collapse of the country.”

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