Maronite Bishops Call for Implementation of National Dialogue Decisions on Arms
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday urged officials to abide by the constitution and called for the implementation of decisions reached at the National Dialogue over the spread of arms.
Following their monthly meeting under Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki, the bishops expressed concern at the “fragile security situation,” urging the political leadership to “implement the decisions of the National Dialogue in terms of weapons in the entire territories and continue discussions on the rest of topics.”
Lebanon’s bickering officials have agreed during previous all-party talks at Baabda palace to disarm Palestinian bases outside refugee camps.
The statement also called for limiting discussions of security issues to political and security institutions which have exerted strong efforts to prevent the eruption of any major incident during the holidays.
The bishops slammed deep political divisions among the country’s politicians, urging them to abide by the laws and the constitution. “The citizen no longer knows from where to get the appropriate answer” to his questions, they said.
The statement came in reference to the controversy that erupted last week after Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn claimed about the presence of al-Qaida in Lebanon. The allegations were denied by Premier Najib Miqati and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel while Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh stressed that al-Qaida fighters were operating in the eastern border town of Arsal.
On the latest wage crisis, the bishops said the citizen was falling prey to inflation and a deteriorating economic situation. “The salaries issue has been subjected to the political bickering without taking into consideration the viewpoints of … workers and owners.”
The Shura Council on Tuesday rejected a third cabinet decision on the wage hike, paving way for the government to adopt a fourth decree.
The statement also called for speeding up the appointments of civil servants to state positions, saying procrastination would lead to “unjustified vacancies in several posts.”
The cabinet is expected to make a series of appointments next week but several positions are still the subject of bickering among top leaders.
The bishops hailed the cabinet for the adoption of a law that grants Lebanese expatriates the citizenship but they stressed the importance of “differentiating between the regaining of the citizenship and the participation in the (parliamentary) elections.”
04 January 2012, 14:11
15
I wonder what are their opinions about "one people living in two nations", it's just amazing to me that everyone decided to ignore this as if it was never uttered.
04 January 2012, 14:21
02
where is the demarcation line between prayers , religious duties and politics ... FOR ALL WHAT WE CALL RELIGIONS.
04 January 2012, 15:58
04
"only M14 brainwashs? find cause for conflict in what Al Rai said"
stinky_evil , if you only had a brain I'd call you brainwashed, go read the comments on Naharnet's " We're One People in 2 Nations " article every true Lebanese M8 and M14 disagree with this statement , which leaves you out .
04 January 2012, 16:21
08
A brief profile of sweating_demon on wikipedia:
1) a hard-core supporter of the Failed Patriotic Movement aka FPM because according to him it is the only "secular" political bloc in lebanon.2) considers Berri a Mafioso, but Bassil and Aoun reformists.3) studied Greek Mythology when most people were still in diapers which gives him the right to speak down to people.4) watched the movie 300, but NOT in Dahiyeh.
5) owns his "own business", a hight tech start-up Basterma & Falafel stand in Bourj Hammoud, and another more private business selling "lingerie" to russian girls in Maameltein.
6) a "perfectionist" who only owns "original" DVDs and books.7) can read & Write…… hardly.
7) supports democracy in the Arab World, but also supports the Syrian regime coz he is afraid about minorities' future like shia (but he is not shia….)if the regime falls.
last but not least 8) a pretentious certified idiot.
04 January 2012, 16:31
05
"one people living in two countries" that's what Saddam Hussein told Kuwait before invading them...
04 January 2012, 16:52
04
Gota love the middle east for the crazies it produces time and time again
04 January 2012, 17:18
70
the filthy zionist information war department is twisting al rahi's words in order to divert attention from his glorious stance on our glorious resistance.
by the way al rahi said "one nation in 2 states" meaning one arab nation while he was talking about syria and lebanon, which means he talked about solidarity that all arab people should have for each other.
04 January 2012, 17:26
40
yes, i agree with the above, but not with that sidekick the demon.
04 January 2012, 18:19
00
I just hope that the sweating_demon realizes that jabal and boyfriend are one and the same (constantly posting back to back, minutes from each others), on the one hand he praises him on the other he belittles him the same way the Yin and Yang of bee2a al hadinat lel Zionist spies = hassan and nabih treat all Christians.
demon you can chose to ignore this but you have been warned jabal is making a fool out of you (although you do a superb job on your own) because you dared to criticize el assteez.
04 January 2012, 19:30
00
"his glorious stance on our glorious resistance."
which ones jabalhabal, he's had so many contradictory ones since he became patriarch even Jesus is confused.
04 January 2012, 21:39
01
and he said that religion should be separated from politics? all he is doing is politics... like his sunni and shia friends! stick to your prayers and leave politics to the politicians!
this is the principle cause of a middle age minded lebanon....
05 January 2012, 00:42
10
the filthy zionist information war department just can't get over patriarch sfeir
