Al-Rahi in Turkey to Discuss Issue of Maronites in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi travelled to Turkey on an official and pastoral visit on Thursday, saying he would discuss there the situation of Maronites in Cyprus.
He kicked off the visit with a meeting with President Abdullah Gul in Ankara.
Ahead of his trip, al-Rahi said: “The visit is not political. It comes at the official invitation of the Turkish government and has a pastoral and spiritual nature that we always try to preserve.”
“I am happy to visit Turkey with which we have cooperation ties through the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon” in which it has a contingent, he stated at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.
“We will discuss with the involved individuals the issues of the Maronites” in the divided island, al-Rahi told reporters.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied the northern third in response to a Greek-inspired coup in Nicosia aimed at union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
During his pastoral visit to the island last month, al-Rahi stressed that the patriarchate would continue working toward the country’s unification.
He is also seeking to settle the situation of four traditionally Maronite villages in the north whose inhabitants fled their homes after the invasion and now live in the Greek side.
Asked about the decisions that the government took on resolving the electricity crisis, al-Rahi said: “We bless each step forward because we are in desperate need for ending the recession.”
“We also bless each decision that the cabinet took to allow Lebanon to regain its economic, national and development cycle,” he added.
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