Al-Rahi Blames Political Rivals for Dividing Country

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi lashed out at politicians on Sunday, stressing that the Lebanese are suffering due to the vacuum at the Baabda Palace and the sharp rift between the political arch-foes.

“The acute dispute between the rival parties divided the country into two and obstructed the civil society,” al-Rahi said during his Easter sermon at Bkirki.

He pointed out that “one-third of the Lebanese became under the line of poverty, which is equal to the number of Syria refugees in Lebanon who need urgent aid.”

“We are facing enormous economic and social challenges,” al-Rahi said.

An estimated 1.18 million Syrians have fled their country's bloody conflict to take refuge in Lebanon, which has struggled to deal with the influx as the war enters its fifth year.

Al-Rahi called on World and Arab leaders to stop supporting mercenaries and fighters with money and weapons, urging them to find peaceful solutions to end the conflicts in the region.

Former President Michel Suleiman, Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel, Information Minister Ramzi Jreij, Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi and several other political figures attended the mass.

On Saturday, al-Rahi denounced during his Easter message the ongoing vacuum in the presidency, urging political powers to hold the polls and end their boycott of the electoral sessions.

“There are no constitutional justifications for the boycott of the elections,” he said, noting that the vacuum has created a “political death” in Lebanon and crippled the government and the parliament.

“It is as if all sides are unfortunately waiting for the order by foreign powers to stage the polls,” he lamented.

Suleiman's term ended in May without the election of a successor as the ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the polls.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform and Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance blocs have been boycotting the elections, demanding that political powers agree on a compromise presidential candidate.

Only few MPs have been attending the sessions. The next electoral session is scheduled for April 22.