Geagea Says Christians Don't Need Protection, Urges them do Distance themselves from Dictators
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Friday that Christians in the region are not foreign communities and don't need anyone's protection, minimizing concerns about the treatment of Christians by hard-liners in Syria.
“The Christians in the Orient are part of the social fabric,” Geagea told a conference on the role of Christians in Lebanon and the Orient held in Maarab.
“They are not foreign communities,” he said, adding “they don't need protection from anyone.”
Geagea was mocking calls by the Free Patriotic Movement, whose officials have warned against the rise of Salafist groups, saying it was the duty of Arab regimes to protect Christians in the Orient.
FPM chief Michel Aoun told the Christians of the Orient conference last month that the diminishing role of Christians is tantamount to “racism.”
His son-in-law, caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, also said last month that assaulting churches in Syria and clergymen and nuns required strong diplomatic action.
He said the kidnapping of Greek Orthodox nuns by rebels from Syria's Mar Takla convent in Maalula was a “rude” act.
The rebels overran the village and the nuns were being kept in the nearby rebel-held town of Yabroud.
Lebanese politicians and mainly Christians should take extraordinary action to form delegations to visit the countries that are backing the rebels in Syria and stop the attack on Christians, he said.
But without mentioning any of them, Geagea ridiculed the FPM officials, saying “some politicians are making a huge drama about Maalula in an attempt to hint that the conflict in Syria is about Christians.”
Some top clergymen are contributing to such efforts, he said.
“The conflict in Syria is suffering from chaos but without any doubt it is a conflict to achieve democracy,” he said.
Geagea also denied that the conflict in the region is between a Muslim majority and a Christian minority.
“Whether we like or not, there are major historic changes in the region that are bringing more freedoms,” he said.
“The Christians should remain in the communities of the Orient. That's why we should adopt their causes and the foundations of the Arab Spring,” he said.
Also without mentioning the FPM, Geagea slammed “the parties allied with (Syrian President Bashar) Assad” for previously criticizing the LF for holding similar conferences on Christians.
“But they are now doing the same,” he said about the Christians of the Orient conference that was backed by the FPM.
Geagea mocked what he said were calls for the “minority Christians in Lebanon” to ally themselves with the Assad regime and the Iranian government.
“Such a suggestion destroys Christians,” he warned.
“Christians make their own fate,” he said, adding “we would vanish if we hold onto dictatorships.”
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