31 March 2010
BEIRUT: A ceremony was held Tuesday in MP Michel Pharaon’s office in the Beirut neighborhood of Achrafieh during which the decisions of the first Adaa development conference were announced.
The Adaa conference aimed at examining several developmental projects for the neighborhood of Achrafieh.
The event was attended by Beirut MPs Nadim Gemayel, Serge Torsarkissian, Mohammad Kabbani and Atef Majdaliani. Minister of State Jean Ogasapian, Beirut’s Mayor Abdel-Moneim al-Ariss, Beirut municipality members, Mukhtars and several local figures participated in the ceremony as well.
Gemayel slammed parties delaying municipal elections for “personal goals,” in a reference to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.
“Some claim that there will be no right representation had Beirut not been divided into several electoral districts. We as MPs will choose our representatives in the municipal elections through forming electoral lists with our allies and religious figures,” Gemayel said, promising that March 14 would win the elections.
“Our true goal is reaching right representation taking into account merit, support and capabilities,” Gemayel added.
For his part, Torsarkissian said that “some parties are deliberately promoting the idea that Beirut was the biggest beneficiary from developmental projects, which is not true.”
Some “$9 million were allocated for the Karantina Hospital out of $250 million for all Lebanon,” Torsarkissian said.
Touching on politics, Torsarkissian addressed parties intending to run against March 14 coalition in the upcoming municipal elections in Beirut.
“I would like to tell them that we won the parliamentary elections and our popularity as well as the support for our political position is increasing day by day.
“We are against abolishing political sectarianism and we support the role played by constitutional institutions and restricting decision in them,” Torsarkissian said.
Ogasapian noted that success in achieving economic and social progress strengthened the role of the state.
“Because the state is the only project we seek, we stress that we will work on development in cooperation with official administrations and parties specializing in civil society.
“Our meetings under Adaa will be ongoing, and will represent an opportunity for people in making developmental decisions in the area and forwarding their propositions and remarks regarding projects,” Ogasapian added.
Also, MP Pharaon said that there was no reason for postponing municipal elections, adding that the issue of dividing Beirut into electoral districts was not subject for discussion in the municipal electoral law but could be discussed later in the Administrative Decentralization and Municipalities law. – The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
