Muslim-Christian Delegation Meets al-Rahi, Stresses Need for Coexistence

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi held talks on Saturday with a Muslim-Christian delegation from the the Bekaa and North, reported the National News Agency.

The delegation handed the patriarch a document on the need to bolster coexistence and civil peace.

It also stressed the need to support the army and reject assaults against it, “which are tantamount to attacks against the nation and people.”

It highlighted the importance of combating “takfiri terrorism, demanding that the government assert the principles of national unity among the people.”

This also includes electing a new president and devising a new parliamentary electoral law, reported NNA.

The delegation was comprised of families from Bekaa-al-Hermel, central Bekaa, Wadi Khaled, Akkar, and Bsharre and met al-Rahi at the seat of the patriarchate in Bkirki.

Lebanon has been without a president since May when the term of Michel Suleiman ended.

Disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a consensual candidate have thwarted the election of a president.

The majority of March 8 parliamentary blocs have boycotted the elections sessions over the dispute.

Al-Rahi has repeatedly urged lawmakers to set aside their factional interests and seek national ones instead to elect a president.

M.T.

D.A.