Al-Rahi Urges Reconciliation Dialogue Based on Suleiman's Army Day Speech
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called on Monday for taking President Michel Suleiman's Army Day speech as a basis of reconciliation talks among Lebanese leaders.
“It's about time for political parties to sit at the table of frankness and reconciliation” and discuss the local situation, al-Rahi said in his sermon during a mass in his summer residence of Diman.
“The president's speech on Army Day should be on the agenda” of the all-party talks, he said.
Al-Rahi also said it was the duty of the Lebanese people and mainly civil society “to urge politicians to find a solution to the political crisis.”
The solution comes through the revival of a capable state that gets strong through its constitutional institutions and the loyalty of the people, he said.
On Thursday, Suleiman said Hizbullah’s fighting in Syria alongside troops loyal to President Bashar Assad underlined the need for a review and approval of a national defense strategy.
He said it was time for the Lebanese state and the army to be the sole decision-makers on the use of the nation's capabilities.
“The army's role would be difficult if a party or more get involved in conflicts outside Lebanon,” he said.
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