Al-Rahi Calls for 'Stripping Hizbullah of Excuses' to Bear Arms
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday asked France and other world powers why doesn’t the international community force “the implementation of resolutions issued by the U.N. Security Council in order to strip Hizbullah of excuses” to possess arms, LBC television reported.
LBC quoted al-Rahi as saying that “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be given a chance because he is implementing reforms in Syria.”
Following talks with French National Assembly Speaker Bernard Accoyer earlier on Wednesday, the patriarch stressed that he supports “all constitutional and political reforms, public freedoms, religious coexistence and the respect of minorities” in the Middle East.
“We must know where we are heading. Iraq’s example is still in mind: are we heading towards civil wars whose price would be paid by the people, Christians in particular, as is the case in Iraq today?” al-Rahi wondered.
“Are we really heading towards the so-called New Middle East scheme – the fragmenting of the Arab world into sectarian states?” the patriarch added, voicing “grave concerns” over such a scenario.
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