The Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, confirmed that "the doors of the parliamentary council are not closed, whether for legislation or for achieving the presidential entitlement, which we hope will be completed sooner rather than later, depending on the availability of sincere wills." He emphasized that "we want a president who believes in Lebanon as the final homeland for all its children. A president committed to the Taif Agreement and the implementation of the unfulfilled reform articles."
Berri considered that "squandering the national and pan-Arab achievements that Lebanon achieved on May 25, 2000, by liberating most of its land from Israeli occupation is an act that rises to the level of high national treason." In a message addressed to the Lebanese on the occasion of Victory and Liberation Day, he said: "On the day of victory and liberation, we affirm that Lebanon, which has always had and continues to have its children’s courage and boldness to defeat the Israeli project and break its will to disrupt its role in the regional system, calls upon all of its political forces to recall all those elements that enabled them to achieve the victory of liberation, foremost among them unity of word and stance."
He called for the necessity of possessing national courage and bravery in facing any internal or external will that seeks to drown Lebanon or undermine it from within through a spiral of vacuum or through disruptive strikes. "They are invited to resort to dialogue and consensus under the roof of the constitution and institutions in approaching all national titles and issues."
Berri added: "In this context, contrary to what some promote to mislead public opinion, we affirm from our political, popular, and legislative position that the doors of the parliamentary council are not closed to either legislation or achieving the presidential entitlement, which we hope will be completed as soon as possible, contingent upon the existence of sincere wills to prompt all parliamentary blocs and independent deputies to create an atmosphere of consensus among them and to remove obstacles that prevent the election of a president who reflects the will of the Lebanese, one who unites rather than divides."
He continued, "A president who believes in Lebanon as the final homeland for all its children. A president committed to the Taif Agreement and to implementing the unfulfilled reform provisions, foremost among them extensive administrative decentralization, the independence of the judiciary, and combating corruption. A president who can restore trust in Lebanon's relations with its Arab brothers. A president who has the ability to build serious and fruitful dialogue with sisterly Syria to resolve the issue of the displaced and to return them to their country, and to finalize border demarcation between the two brotherly countries. A president capable of dispelling the concerns of all Lebanese regarding the state and its roles in protection and social and economic care to reassure them about their deposits in banks. A president who rejects any form of settlement. A president who believes that Israel is the main enemy of Lebanon and opposes it in location, role, and message."
Berri viewed that "squandering the national and pan-Arab achievements that Lebanon achieved on May 25, 2000, by liberating most of its land from Israeli occupation and foiling its old and new aggressive plans aimed at undermining the foundations of the Lebanese entity and its constitutional institutions and striking the model of coexistence therein as the antithesis of its racist entity is an act that rises to the level of high national treason, regardless of who commits this act, whether intentionally or due to a lack of belonging and national sentiment."
He added, "The resistance, by all its names, has provided an elevated model in carrying out the national and pan-Arab duty, representing in its performance and behavior during times of abandonment a peak in bearing responsibility, leading to the sacrifice of souls and lives in the pursuit of truth, the attainment of freedom, and the defense of land, honor, sovereignty, and dignity. Ultimately, this is a testimony and martyrdom for the sake of Lebanon and rescuing it from the clutches of obstruction and vacuum in its various constitutional and administrative institutions."
Berri concluded, stating: "Thanks also on this national and pan-Arab day to the brotherly and friendly Arab countries that supported and assisted Lebanon in liberating its land, in building its resistance, notably sisterly Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. And eternal tribute to the resistors. They are the martyrs of our sacred land, defending Lebanon and the strength of its resistance and unity, preserving civil peace."
