BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri has warned that the months-long paralysis of Parliament threatens Lebanon’s security.
“The most serious thing about closing the door on legislation, besides its political and Constitutional dimensions, is getting closer to red lines related to Lebanon’s national security and strengthening its stability,” Berri told local newspaper As-Safir in comments published Tuesday.
An example of that, he said, was a draft law concerning immunity of French officers who will train the Lebanese Army on new weapons as part of the $3 billion Saudi grant for Lebanon.
“France has informed Lebanon that without approval of that law, it would be impossible for them to send trainers,” Berri said.
The presidential deadlock has paralyzed legislation in Parliament, which has been unable to meet over a lack of quorum even before former President Michel Sleiman’s six-year term ended on May 25.
March 14 lawmakers have refused to attend legislative sessions in the absence of a president, arguing that Parliament should only convene to discuss urgent matters.
Similarly, lawmakers from MP Michel Aoun’s bloc and Hezbollah’s bloc and their March 8 allies have boycotted parliamentary sessions to elect a president, demanding an agreement beforehand with their March 14 rivals on a consensus candidate.
