Berri adjourns Parliament session over lack of quorum
Speaker Nabih Berri postponed until March 19 a Parliament session on Thursday as the two-thirds quorum required to ratify laws was not reached. The quorum collapsed when Parliament started discussing a law to try ministers.
The draft law, put forth by the Parliament”s Administration and Justice committee allows trying heads of state institutions and ministers.
MP Butros Harb described the draft law under discussion as "incomplete as it preserved the immunity of ministers.
Twelve other proposals and draft-laws were discussed during the morning session on Thursday, despite the absence of several MPs.
Media reports said that tensions were palpable between Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora during the session.
In remarks delivered during the session, Berri denounced the spread of sectarian and confessional divisions in Lebanon, adding that the electoral law was "supposed to eliminate sectarianism, but failed to do so despite the presence of the National Committee on the Abolition of Political Confessionalism."
For his part, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said that the Cabinet always reported Israeli breaches of Lebanese sovereignty along the Blue Line.
Siniora”s comments came in response to Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Ali Ammar, who criticized during the session "the domestic silence toward Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty."
Ammar said Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty should be brought before the international community.
Ammar also voiced dissaproval of visits by foreign delegations that take place without coordinating with the Foreign Ministry in advance. He was referring to a visit on Wednesday by a US congressional delegation, which did not meet with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh.
On a separate issue, Siniora said the current Cabinet was determined to pass the 2009 draft budget, adding that he hoped the ministers would reach an agreement on the matter.
He added that any of the pending administrative and judicial appointments needed the approval of the legal quorum or two-thirds of MPs.
The Parliament also approved signing a deal with the Kuwaiti Fund for Economic Development to provide Lebanon with a second line of credit to build a road from Beirut”s eastern entrance at Hazmiyeh to Sawfar.
Development and Liberation bloc MP Michel Moussa commented on last Thursday”s kidnapping of MEA employee Youssef Sader and praised the security forces” efforts to reveal his fate. Moussa said he hoped Sader would be safely returned to his family as soon as possible.
Head of the Administration and Justice Commission MP Robert Ghanem expressed surprise at accusations that the Lebanese Army and security forces were responsible for the recent security incidents, including Sader”s kidnapping, the death of PSP supporter Lutfi Zeineddine, and the murder of MEA pilot Ghassan Maqdad.
Ghanem also questioned Energy and Water Resources Minister Alain Tabourian”s vague response to an issue brought up by the West Bekaa parliamentary bloc concerning electricity. Ghanem hinted that an investigation should be launched into the matter, so that MPs could later withdraw confidence from Tabourian.
Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra, for his part, said it was not acceptable that Sader”s fate was still unknown one week after his kidnapping. Zahra questioned the security measures taken at the airport where Sader was abducted.
Zahra also said a minister failed to answer some deputies” concerns regarding his ministry”s performance, a reference to Telecommunications Minister Gebran Bassil. Instead, the minister, Zahra said, had the lawmakers question themselves.
The LF MP expressed surprise about the "covering up" of the illegal wiretapping issue.