Patriarch Sfeir Hammers Lahoud and Aoun
| Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir lashed out at President Emile Lahoud and Gen. Michael Aoun, accusing them of trying to re-establish the era of Syrian hegemony in Lebanon. Asked by the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper to comment on Lahoud’s performance, Sfeir said: “What does he do? He spends his day with political wrangling and countering remarks made by his critics. This, certainly, hurts the image of the presidency.” “I told the president who was sitting next to me here during Christmas that the country needs a salvation step, even at the expense of your term (in office). Later I sent him a written message with one of my aides urging him to abdicate, but …,” Sfeir was quoted by the paper as saying in an interview that will be published Friday. Excerpts of the interview were made available to Naharnet by the Kuwaiti newspaper’s bureau in Beirut. As for Aoun, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement, Sfeir said: “He has an understanding with Hizbullah, assuming that he will have the party’s backing to be chosen president.” Sfeir said Christians “are not united like the rest of the (Lebanese) communities. Some of them support the government and are allied with the majority and others are with the other side (opposition). They are those who hope to rule Lebanon again as it used to be ruled during the hegemony era.” Syria, according to Sfeir, “practices huge pressure on the group affiliated with it to hamper the international tribunal and prevent internal entente.” “What is the purpose of this division that we are witnessing? What is the aim of this sit-in and these tents that have been erected in (public) squares?” Sfeir asked in reference to the sit-in staged in Beirut’s main square by the Hizbullah-led opposition since Dec. 1 with the declared objective of toppling Premier Fouad Saniora’s majority government. “The country can’t take it anymore. The economy is bleeding, people’s interests and shops have closed down and immigration is increasing, especially among the youth,” the patriarch added. He hoped the nation does not reach the stage of “turmoil … The Lebanese are now divided because external sides are interfering in our affairs and exerting pressure on some of us. That is why I see no possibility for achieving a settlement during the (Riyadh) summit, despite good will efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia.” “The main interference comes from the neighbors (Syria),” Sfeir said. “Syria left Lebanon, but maintains its existence in it through its (intelligence) agencies and pressures … Syria did not accept what has happened and seeks a return to Lebanon,” Sfeir added. Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in April 2005, more than two months after the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri by a powerful blast that targeted his motorcade in Beirut. The majority March 14 alliance, which backs the Saniora government, blames the crime and a series of related attempts on Syria. The Hizbullah-led opposition rejects such charges. |
| Beirut, 29 Mar 07 |
