At Bkirki summit, Shiite leader urges consensual president and end to 'crazy war'
Higher Islamic Shiite Council deputy head Sheikh Ali al-Khatib on Wednesday agreed that a “consensual president” must be elected for the country so that all Lebanese can support him in addressing the “heavy burden” of the ongoing Israeli war.
“But first this crazy war must be stopped through the unity of the Lebanese people,” Khatib added, during a spiritual summit in Bkirki organized by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.
“We are counting on the efforts of Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and we place our full confidence in them,” Khatib added.
“Hezbollah’s secretary-general, the martyr Hassan Nasrallah, offered himself as a sacrifice for Lebanon and our people were forced to flee. We salute the Lebanese people from all sects for opening their doors to their brothers,” the Shiite leader added.
“We are the advocates, sponsors and protectors of the state and we are keen on its rise, strength and authority, but throughout decades, the state renounced its sovereignty and showed impotence and carelessness about the sovereignty and dignity of its people and their suffering, abandoning them on the border to the Zionist monster,” Khatib lamented.
Saluting “the heroic men of the resistance,” the Shiite leader called for “building a real and capable state that can shoulder their national responsibilities in defending its sovereignty and the dignity of its people.”
Patriarch al-Rahi for his part said there is “a national tragedy” that is “sweeping everyone.”
“Today the time is for mending wounds and finding solutions, and this is our role as spiritual leaders,” the patriarch added.
Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Sami Abi al-Mona meanwhile warned against seeking “foreign” assistance against internal parties and against any attempt to “defeat any sect.”
A closing statement issued later in the day called on the U.N. Security Council to "meet immediately to secure a ceasefire and stop the massacre against Lebanon."
"We call for electing a president who enjoys the biggest level of consensus and for the immediate implementation of Resolution 1701," it added.
16 October 2024, 15:05
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Lebanon's entire problem can be summarized by his "But first". The country needs fewer men with self-interested conditions and more men interested in leading the country to peace and returning it to prosperity. The Shia insistence on someone giving them peace before doing for all Lebanese is the excuse to keep on as they have been. That is not working and so is part of what needs to change. al-Khatib keeps repeating he stands for no change.
