‘National Moderation’ bloc: Berri to convene committee session Monday on General Amnesty law

BEIRUT — Following a meeting between the "National Moderation" parliamentary bloc and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh on Wednesday, MP Abdel Aziz al-Samad said that Berri confirmed he will call for a session for the joint parliamentary committees next Monday to discuss the General Amnesty law.

Debates over the law has continued among political parties, leading to the postponement of a previous meeting due to disagreements over who should be included in the amnesty.

Apart from Berri and al-Samad, the meeting included MPs Mohammad Suleiman and Ahmad al-Kheir, as well as the bloc’s secretary, former MP Hadi Hbeish and member of Amal Movement's Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Hassan Khalil.

"Speaker Berri confirmed that he will call for a session of the joint parliamentary committees next Monday, which would help ease tensions and grant people their rights within the framework of law and justice," Samad said following the meeting, speaking on behalf of the bloc which is formed of former Future Movement-affiliated MPs.

The debate over general amnesty in Lebanon remains deeply sectarian, with each community tending to view detainees, collaborators and war crimes through the lens of their own historical experiences, political alliances, and collective grievances, seeking amnesty for different categories of detainees, much to the dismay of others.

While families of Islamist detainees in Lebanon are actively demanding general amnesty, Christian leaders, foremost among them Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, have called for the inclusion in amnesty of Lebanese citizens residing in Israel.

It is in this context that the general amnesty bill, called for to relieve overcrowded Lebanese prisons, particularly of detainees who have never stood trial, sparked heated debate in the parliamentary committee on April 6.

The meeting also addressed Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon and the crisis of the displaced persons. "We reiterated our complete rejection of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the repeated violations of Lebanese sovereignty, stressing the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities in protecting Lebanon," Samad added.

The delegation also stressed the importance of "cooperation among various political forces to address the crises facing Lebanon, far from political vendettas, and to place the interests of the Lebanese people above all else."

Despite a cease-fire agreement reached on April 16, Israeli attacks on south Lebanon have killed hundreds of people, while Hezbollah continues to carry out daily attacks targeting Israeli forces that still occupy many villages in the south.

Earlier in the day, the bloc’s MPs visited Baabda, where they were received by President Joseph Aoun. “We reaffirmed to him our support for any step that strengthens state-building, preserves the higher national interest, as well as civil peace and national unity,” MP Sleiman said after the meeting. He added that they stressed to the president that “sovereign decisions taken by the government regarding the monopoly of arms, reclaiming the decision of war and peace, and extending state authority over the entire national territory reflect the demands of the majority of Lebanese.”

The bloc members also expressed their support for the Lebanese Army, “which must not be drawn into escalation or used as a tool in political bargaining.” They finally called on the president “to coordinate with foreign and Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, to end the Israeli aggression in a way that preserves the dignity of Lebanon and its people.”