11 May 2013
BEIRUT: Lebanon should adopt a policy of neutrality, but one that excludes Israel and Arab states, Speaker Nabih Berri said Friday.
His remarks came after meeting with a delegation from the Kataeb Party, which is seeking to incorporate the policy of disassociation from the regional turmoil into the Constitution.
“The neutrality we want cannot be taken from the principles of Austrian neutrality or one that reflects a foreign country’s will,” Berri said in a statement released after the meeting.
“In any case, the policy should include two exceptions: the first related to Israel and the second to the Arab countries, because it is not acceptable to be neutral with Arab states that we are part of,” he said.
The Kataeb delegation included lawmakers Sami Gemayel, Nadim Gemayel, Elie Marouni, Fadi Habr, and Samer Saade. The MPs are pushing for a full disassociation policy from conflicts in the region.
Lebanon’s rival leaders agreed during a National Dialogue session last year to adopt a policy of disassociation with regard to regional conflict, particularly regarding the civil war in Syria.
According to Berri’s office, “Neutrality was proposed during National Dialogue [sessions] and Speaker Nabih [Berri] then took the same position as that of Patriarch [Boulos] Maoushi in 1958 when he said that we in Lebanon are all seekers of neutrality, but a neutrality that Lebanon approves should be by our free will, in agreement and harmony with all Arab countries.”
“But internationalization and neutrality decided abroad cannot be accepted at all, because that would mean putting us all under a [foreign] mandate,” Berri’s statement added. Berri will study the proposal and make a decision on the issue, his office said.
The Kataeb delegation also met with the head of the Future Movement’s parliamentary bloc, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
“No doubt, the Future bloc welcomes such a proposal although there were some remarks that were taken into account for the final draft,” Nadim Gemayel told reporters after his meeting with Siniora. He said the final version would be circulated among the various political blocs for their approval and signatures.
Copyright The Daily Star 2013.
