BERRI FROM ARMENIA: INTERNATIONAL POWERS TARGETING ARAB REGIMES TO SUBJECT THEM TO THEIR WILL
Naharnet
Oct 4 2011
Lebanon
Speaker Nabih Berri criticized on Tuesday the international community’s
“double standards” in dealing with Israel, accusing it of having
hidden agendas in the Middle East.
He said before the Armenian parliament: “International decision-makers
are placing all Arab regimes in the position of the accused in order
to subject them to their will.”
“They are is seeking to weaken Arab states, one country at a time,”
he added.
“Of course we don’t oppose granting the people their rightful demands
for democracy and transparency, but we cannot but confront powers”
seeking to manipulate these demands for their own interests, the
speaker continued.
Addressing Palestine’s U.N. bid to be recognized as an independent
state, Berri remarked: “The developments in the region indicate that
a long time will pass before stability is reached in the region.”
“The Middle East will not witness peace and the Palestinians will
continue on having the right to keep a comprehensive popular
resistance, as do the Lebanese against Israeli violations,” he
stressed.
“Syria also has the right to maintain its resistant positions in
attempting to restore the occupied Golan Heights,” he noted.
“I had previously warned that Israel is seeking to evade its
obligations towards fair and comprehensive peace … and facts have
demonstrated that peace that is not based on justice is doomed to
fail,” he stated.
“Lebanon and Syria are committed to the basic principles and values
that can guarantee their national sovereignty and right to take
advantage of their natural resources,” he remarked.
Given Israel’s ongoing violations of international resolutions,
Lebanon has the right to hang on to its resistance, Berri said.
“Abandoning the Resistance would invite Israel to occupy our land,”
he cautioned.
The speaker also welcomed the negotiations between Armenia and Turkey
that were launched in 2008, saying: “We object neighboring countries’
efforts to overpower the other and we oppose meddling in the internal
affairs of any state.”
“Attempting to create sectarian strife in Syria, or any other state,
will negatively impact the region and pave the way for its division,”
he warned.
“All sides should have an interest in making Syria a model country
for the Middle East through the establishment of a modern democratic
system there that can confront Israeli aggression and provide the
necessary balance to achieve fair and comprehensive peace in the
region,” he stressed.
On Lebanese-Armenian ties, the speaker noted that despite the
solid ties between the peoples of the two nations, the economic and
commercial ties between the two states do not reflect the depth of
the relations between Lebanese and Armenians.
Berri, accompanied by MPs Mohammed Raad and Arthur Nazarian, began
a three-day visit to Armenia on Monday.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
