Berri Congratulates Rahi, Franjieh, Geagea on Reconciliation
Speaker Nabih Berri congratulated Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi for sponsoring a reconciliation between Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea that ended 40-years of enmity, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.
Berri congratulated Rahi over the phone, and made similar congratulatory calls with Franjieh and Geagea, NNA said.
Geagea and Franjieh held a reconciliation meeting Wednesday in Bkirki, turning the page on a 40-year-long rift between their two parties.
The meeting was sponsored by al-Rahi and held in the presence of a large number of officials from the two parties.
Describing the meeting as “great,” al-Rahi said “all those who cherish rapprochement, dialogue and peace for the sake of the country are pleased by this meeting today.”
The rift between the two parties dates back to the 1978 Ehden Massacre which resulted in the death of Franjieh’s father, mother and three-year-old sister. Dozens of Marada supporters were also killed in the carnage.
Marada accuses Geagea, the LF’s military commander in the North at the time, of leading the squad that carried out the operation. Geagea denies the allegations, arguing that he had been wounded and taken to hospital prior to the carnage.
15 November 2018, 16:56
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this is a great thing that happened. since 2007 both parties have been hard at work laying the grounds for this . hopefully it will put to bed not only the conflict between these two parties but also a centuries old blood feud between the two regions. i have relatives in both regions this is something they've been dreaming of for a long time.
