Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri affirmed, during his reception of a delegation from the “We Are All Beirut” gathering headed by former minister Mohammad Choucair, that “national unity and civil peace are a red line that will under no circumstances be allowed to be crossed at all, and that any infringement on these two pillars by any party whatsoever is an infringement on Lebanon’s very existence and a free gift to the Israeli enemy and its projects, which can only succeed through sedition.”
He added: “Sedition is dormant, and God curses whoever awakens it. How much more so when the matter is among the sons of one country, one homeland, one identity — indeed, among the sons of one religion. At this moment, I reiterate and declare that I am Shiite in identity, Sunni in inclination, and Arab in destiny.”
He continued: “I seize this opportunity, as we are on the first day of the ceasefire taking effect and the beginning of residents’ return to their villages and towns, to renew my thanks to the capital, Beirut, which opened its doors and neighborhoods, as did Mount Lebanon and the North, to the displaced from the South, the southern suburbs, and the Bekaa.”
Berri expressed his displeasure, condemnation, and rejection of the gunfire that took place yesterday, considering that it “happens on every occasion.”
He stressed that “every bullet fired into the air, insofar as it can pose a danger to innocent lives and threaten people’s property, is an affront to the dignity of the martyrs, and is a violation not only of the law but of all divine laws as well.”
