Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri sent a brief appeal to the Lebanese, warning of the danger of the stage and the slide into strife, in light of the internal tension that followed the announcement of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel under American sponsorship.
Berri said in a statement issued by him: “Oh my people in Lebanon, all of Lebanon, this is strife,” citing the saying: “Be in strife like the son of a lion, neither a back to be ridden nor an udder to be milked.”
Berri’s position comes hours after the escalation of political and popular debate over the framework agreement, and the accompanying field movements and road blockades in more than one region, especially in Beirut and its environs, amid fears that the political division will spill over into the street.
Berri’s statement carries a clear warning against engaging in any internal confrontation or lining up behind calls that might lead to the explosion of the situation, as he called, through his martyrdom, to distance oneself from strife and not to become a tool in the hands of any party.
This call comes at a very sensitive political moment, with positions divided between those who see the agreement as a path for the state to restore its sovereignty and open the door to Israeli withdrawal, and those who consider it a negligence or a gateway to dangerous internal arrangements, especially at the level of the arms issue and the south.
Fears are increasing that the debate over the agreement will turn into security tension in the street, after opposing positions were issued by several political forces, between welcoming, warning and rejecting, while official, judicial and security bodies called for preventing the blocking of roads and controlling any breach of security.
With this appeal, Berri appeared to be raising an early warning signal to the Lebanese, warning that the greatest danger lies not only in the disagreement over the agreement, but in turning this disagreement into internal strife for which the entire country will pay the price.
