After the Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri announced the framework agreement, which represents the basis for the launch of indirect negotiations between Lebanon and the Zionist entity on demarcating the land and maritime borders, he stressed that the Army will be in charge of the talks under the sponsorship of the presidency.
In the cases of holding negotiations with the eternal enemy that killed thousands of innocent Lebanese people, the army alone can be in charge of the mission. However, including civilians in the negotiations team would be considered a recognition of the occupation entity.
Lebanon on Monday named its team that will take part in the first meeting of the negotiations on the maritime border demarcation with the Zionist entity expected to be held under UN-sponsorship on Wednesday.
President Michel Aoun’s office said the four-member Lebanese delegation will be headed by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Lebanese Army for Operations Brigadier General Pilot Bassam Yassin. The three other members are Marine Colonel Mazen Basbous, Lebanese Petroleum Administration chairman Wisam Chbat and maritime borders expert Najib Msihi who works with the Lebanese Army on maps.
Including civilians in the delegation is completely rejected in all the patriotic considerations which fortify the national dignity and honor. Does the Lebanese army lack the needed expertise in the various technical domains related to the border talks?
It is worth noting that ‘Israel’ had idly tried, since 1996 Understanding, to push Lebanon into including delegating civilians into the indirect talks. However, it has managed during the few recent days to snatch what it failed to achieve in 10 years (the duration of the preliminary talks led, on the Lebanese side, by Speaker Berri).
The Premiership said Monday that President Michel Aoun made a “clear and blatant violation of a constitutional text” by not coordinating with caretaker PM Hassan Diab in the formation of the team that will handle negotiations over maritime border demarcation with Israel.
Noting that Article 52 of the Constitution stipulates that the president should coordinate with the premier when negotiating over international treaties, the Premiership pointed out that it had communicated several times with the Directorate General of the Presidency with the aim of “committing to the aforementioned constitutional texts, seeing as this negotiating issue is considered a sovereign issue.”
“Accordingly, negotiating and tasking (a team) with negotiating should happen through a common agreement between the president and the premier… and any different approach represents a clear and blatant violation of a constitutional text,” the Premiership added.
Source: Al-MAnar TV (Edited and translated by Al-Manar English Website)
