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By Therese Sfeir
Daily Star staff
Friday, June 24, 2005
BEIRUT:
In light of the results of the parliamentary
elections and the sweeping victory of
Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, particularly
in South Lebanon and the Bekaa, Amal's Central
Committee held an emergency meeting on
Thursday in which it stressed the necessity to
consolidate the political alliance with
Hizbullah in order to defend the resistance
and to stand up to Israel.
Presided by Speaker Nabih Berri, the meeting
was attended by Vice President of the Higher
Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan and
the committee's members.
The committee also called for the complete
implementation of the Taif Accord and the
creation of a modern electoral law.
Stressing the need to set up reform in the
political arena, the committee said the new
Parliament should create a law to regulate the
Lebanese parties.
It also added that practical financial and
economic measures should be taken in order to
decrease the public debt and to fight
corruption and public money squandering.
The committee underlined "the necessity to
preserve the sisterly relations between
Lebanon and Syria and to exert all necessary
efforts to put an end to the series of
assassinations targeting Lebanese figures."
During the meeting, Berri congratulated the
Amal Movement for the victory of all its
candidates in South Lebanon and the Bekaa and
for the efficiency of the party's strategy in
overcoming the pressures exerted on the
country, which started with the assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, leading
up to the booby-trapped car blast that led to
the death of the former leader of the
Communist Party, George Hawi.
Berri informed the committee of the outcome of
his official visit to
Iran
and his meeting with Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami and Foreign Minister Kamal
Kharazi, as well as his meetings with several
Iranian officials and religious figures.
For his part, Qabalan highlighted the need to
preserve national unity and peaceful
coexistence as well as the need to strengthen
the national reconciliation. He also called
for the preservation of the good relations
between
Lebanon
and Syria. |
