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MARCH 14 MIGHT ATTEND SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT
by Van Meguerditchian
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
November 20, 2012 Tuesday
Torsarkissian said that the opposition coalition would attend the
Parliament session next week to hear the speech of President Sargsyan
on condition that Cabinet members do not attend.
BEIRUT: March 14 MP Serge Torsarkissian said Monday that the opposition
coalition would attend the Parliament session next week to hear the
speech of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on condition that Cabinet
members do not attend.
Torsarkissian also called on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to make
an appropriate decision and keep the Cabinet out of the assembly to
avert a boycott of the session by the coalition's members.
"We are ready to go down to Parliament next week if the government
stays away from the assembly. We don't have a problem attending the
scheduled session if the government is not present," Torsarkissian
told The Daily Star.
"The government should not be there. According to protocol, this
session is an occasion for the country's Parliament during which a
visiting president will address MPs," he said.
"The president is visiting Parliament and the government doesn't
have any business in that meeting. [Prime Minister Najib] Mikati's
government can have its own meeting with Sargsyan."
The Beirut MP added: "These are the conditions of our participation.
"It is up to Berri: If he fails to take the right decision, our
boycott will be his responsibility."
Sargsyan will pay an official two-day visit to Lebanon starting next
Monday, during which he will meet with President Michel Sleiman,
Mikati and Berri.
He is also scheduled to make a speech to Parliament.
Following the Oct. 19 assassination of senior security official Brig.
Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in a car bomb in Beirut, the March 14-led
opposition has said it will boycott Cabinet and any parliamentary
activity it is involved in.
The March 14-led opposition has repeatedly called for the formation
of a neutral-salvation government.
The opposition has accused Syria of being behind the killing and has
also held Mikati's Cabinet responsible.
According to Torsarkissian, the visit of Sargsyan to Lebanon is an
important one that will be recognized by all Lebanese citizens.
Torsarkissian added that "the March 14 coalition will have its own
meeting with President Sargsyan."
But Ali Hamdan, an adviser to Berri, said that the assembly is open
to all state officials and will not exclude specific groups.
"Invitations are sent to diplomats, ambassadors and all state
officials, including ministers," Hamdan said.
"This session - dedicated to a speech by the Armenian president - was
scheduled at least two months ago and has not been recently prepared,"
he added.
"If March 14 MPs don't want to attend, that's their problem. There has,
as yet, been no discussion on who should be participating."
Hamdan also said that the majority of MPs will attend to hear the
speech, and there will be no problem in ensuring the necessary quorum.
March 14 MP Marwah Hamadeh said earlier that the opposition would
boycott the parliamentary session.
"We will not attend the parliamentary session called by Berri on Nov.
27," Hamadeh told Voice of Lebanon radio station, according to a
statement from his press office.
But Hamadeh denied that the threatened boycott was intended as a snub
to the Armenian president.
"Boycotting the parliamentary session in the presence of the Armenian
president is not a move against our guest," Hamadeh said.
Separately, an Amal Movement source told The Daily Star that Berri
would not call for a parliamentary meeting over the crisis in Gaza,
and added that the March 14 coalition had read too much into the
speaker's remarks on the matter.
"The March 14 coalition's accusations that Berri was setting them
a trap to attend a Parliament session in solidarity with Gaza are
unfounded," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The speaker has no intention to call for a Parliament session
concerning the situation in Gaza," he said.
Media reports over the weekend indicated that Berri was thinking of
convening Parliament in order to voice solidarity with the Gaza Strip,
which has been under bombardment from Israel since last week.
Opposition lawmakers believe the speaker is trying to corner them
into attending the session and thus break their decision to not attend
the legislative branch's meetings involving members of the government.
According to the source, the March 14-led opposition has made
accusations based on assumptions rather than facts, "which proves
that the group has become politically bankrupt."
In remarks published Monday, Berri slammed accusations by the March
14 coalition suggesting that he planned on tricking the opposition
by holding a parliamentary session to voice support for Gazans.
"What is Nabih Berri's crime and what is the trap he is trying to
set for the opposition?" Berri asked An-Nahar newspaper.
"Is it a crime for me to call for a parliamentary session in solidarity
with the Palestinians?" he added.
Berri said he had been surprised by the opposition's reaction to media
speculation suggesting he was considering calling for Parliament to
gather, and accused the opposition of employing double standards when
it came to their shunning of the Cabinet.
"How can they boycott the Cabinet while [Future parliamentary bloc
leader] Fouad Siniora calls Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss
the developments in Sidon?
"How can they contact [Progressive Socialist Party leader] MP Walid
Jumblatt?" Berri asked.
by Van Meguerditchian
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
November 20, 2012 Tuesday
Torsarkissian said that the opposition coalition would attend the
Parliament session next week to hear the speech of President Sargsyan
on condition that Cabinet members do not attend.
BEIRUT: March 14 MP Serge Torsarkissian said Monday that the opposition
coalition would attend the Parliament session next week to hear the
speech of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on condition that Cabinet
members do not attend.
Torsarkissian also called on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to make
an appropriate decision and keep the Cabinet out of the assembly to
avert a boycott of the session by the coalition's members.
"We are ready to go down to Parliament next week if the government
stays away from the assembly. We don't have a problem attending the
scheduled session if the government is not present," Torsarkissian
told The Daily Star.
"The government should not be there. According to protocol, this
session is an occasion for the country's Parliament during which a
visiting president will address MPs," he said.
"The president is visiting Parliament and the government doesn't
have any business in that meeting. [Prime Minister Najib] Mikati's
government can have its own meeting with Sargsyan."
The Beirut MP added: "These are the conditions of our participation.
"It is up to Berri: If he fails to take the right decision, our
boycott will be his responsibility."
Sargsyan will pay an official two-day visit to Lebanon starting next
Monday, during which he will meet with President Michel Sleiman,
Mikati and Berri.
He is also scheduled to make a speech to Parliament.
Following the Oct. 19 assassination of senior security official Brig.
Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in a car bomb in Beirut, the March 14-led
opposition has said it will boycott Cabinet and any parliamentary
activity it is involved in.
The March 14-led opposition has repeatedly called for the formation
of a neutral-salvation government.
The opposition has accused Syria of being behind the killing and has
also held Mikati's Cabinet responsible.
According to Torsarkissian, the visit of Sargsyan to Lebanon is an
important one that will be recognized by all Lebanese citizens.
Torsarkissian added that "the March 14 coalition will have its own
meeting with President Sargsyan."
But Ali Hamdan, an adviser to Berri, said that the assembly is open
to all state officials and will not exclude specific groups.
"Invitations are sent to diplomats, ambassadors and all state
officials, including ministers," Hamdan said.
"This session - dedicated to a speech by the Armenian president - was
scheduled at least two months ago and has not been recently prepared,"
he added.
"If March 14 MPs don't want to attend, that's their problem. There has,
as yet, been no discussion on who should be participating."
Hamdan also said that the majority of MPs will attend to hear the
speech, and there will be no problem in ensuring the necessary quorum.
March 14 MP Marwah Hamadeh said earlier that the opposition would
boycott the parliamentary session.
"We will not attend the parliamentary session called by Berri on Nov.
27," Hamadeh told Voice of Lebanon radio station, according to a
statement from his press office.
But Hamadeh denied that the threatened boycott was intended as a snub
to the Armenian president.
"Boycotting the parliamentary session in the presence of the Armenian
president is not a move against our guest," Hamadeh said.
Separately, an Amal Movement source told The Daily Star that Berri
would not call for a parliamentary meeting over the crisis in Gaza,
and added that the March 14 coalition had read too much into the
speaker's remarks on the matter.
"The March 14 coalition's accusations that Berri was setting them
a trap to attend a Parliament session in solidarity with Gaza are
unfounded," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The speaker has no intention to call for a Parliament session
concerning the situation in Gaza," he said.
Media reports over the weekend indicated that Berri was thinking of
convening Parliament in order to voice solidarity with the Gaza Strip,
which has been under bombardment from Israel since last week.
Opposition lawmakers believe the speaker is trying to corner them
into attending the session and thus break their decision to not attend
the legislative branch's meetings involving members of the government.
According to the source, the March 14-led opposition has made
accusations based on assumptions rather than facts, "which proves
that the group has become politically bankrupt."
In remarks published Monday, Berri slammed accusations by the March
14 coalition suggesting that he planned on tricking the opposition
by holding a parliamentary session to voice support for Gazans.
"What is Nabih Berri's crime and what is the trap he is trying to
set for the opposition?" Berri asked An-Nahar newspaper.
"Is it a crime for me to call for a parliamentary session in solidarity
with the Palestinians?" he added.
Berri said he had been surprised by the opposition's reaction to media
speculation suggesting he was considering calling for Parliament to
gather, and accused the opposition of employing double standards when
it came to their shunning of the Cabinet.
"How can they boycott the Cabinet while [Future parliamentary bloc
leader] Fouad Siniora calls Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss
the developments in Sidon?
"How can they contact [Progressive Socialist Party leader] MP Walid
Jumblatt?" Berri asked.