March 14 Warns Against Attempts to Put STL on Parliament Session Agenda

March 14 lawmakers have accused Speaker Nabih Berri of putting the speakership in confrontation of not only the March 14 forces but also the Cedar Revolution after he said it took Lebanon back 60 years on the democratic level.

In remarks to An Nahar daily on Tuesday, the sources warned that Berri was making attempts to put on the agenda of a parliamentary session on June 8 the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Lebanon’s commitment to it.

Berri called for the session next week to vote on important issues such as the renewal of Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh’s mandate. The March 14 forces are rejecting such a move for fears that the speaker would give parliament executive authorities amid the absence of a cabinet.

If Berri’s move on the tribunal was proved, then this means his group is continuing to carry out its “coup against the national unity government and pushing Lebanon towards a dangerous unknown.”

The March 14 coalition accused the Hizbullah-led alliance of carrying out a coup against Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri in January by nominating Premier-designate Najib Miqati.

The March 14 MPs told An Nahar that they will decide on their next move when parliament’s bureau committee meets to decide on the items that would be put on the session’s agenda.

Al-Liwaa daily said, however, that centrists are seeking to clinch a deal between the March 8 and 14 forces to limit the session’s agenda to the renewal of Salameh’s mandate without discussing other draft-laws.