Geagea: Al-Rahi's Stance on Syria Endangers All Christians in Region
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday slammed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s stances on the Syrian crisis, saying his remarks “put all the Christians in the region in danger.”
“I can’t hide the fact that his statements had infuriated me, as they support the regime and contradict with our entire history and I cannot be proud of this rhetoric,” Geagea said in an interview on MTV.
“Doesn’t Patriarch al-Rahi know that the majority of Christians are against the Syrian regime? What regime is more hardline than the Syrian regime? What regime has committed only 1% of the Syrian regime’s acts against us? It is illogical to support a killer regime?” Geagea added.
He stressed that 90 percent of the region’s population cannot be “mistaken,” wondering how to describe Lebanon “if Syria is the closest country to a democratic system.”
The LF leader called on the patriarch to “quickly act in order to clarify Bkirki’s stance.”
“It is distressing that Bkirki’s position has changed,” he lamented.
“Is it reasonable for the patriarch of the Maronites to be like (Arab Tawhid Party leader) Wiam Wahhab, (Lebanon’s Baath Party leader) Fayez Shukur, Russia and China? How can we justify this position?” Geagea wondered, comparing al-Rahi to Syria’s allies in Lebanon and the world.
“My basic stance on the Syrian revolution is that I am against a dictatorial regime and with a people demanding freedom and I’m sad for the patriarch, his position, his image and the image of the church, as what will we tell the upcoming generations? Should we tell them that the patriarch backed the regime?” Geagea went on to say.
Asked whether the “Cedar Revolution” set an example for the Arab Spring, Geagea said: “The Syrian people saw how the Lebanese people defeated the Syrian army, so they seized the chance to stage their revolution with the coming of the Arab Spring.”
Asked about his recent trips to Qatar and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Geagea said: “It’s not the first time I visit Arab countries and my latest visit had nothing to do with reports suggesting that I’m seeking to become the next president.”
“My visit to Kurdistan had nothing to do with (Syrian National Council chief) Burhan Ghalioun’s visit which took place two days earlier,” Geagea added, noting that “there is no coordination with the (opposition) Syrian National Council.”
“Our stance is political and an act of solidarity,” he clarified.
Separately, Geagea stressed that “the Syrian revolution has not reached a dead end at all.”
“The Syrian forces’ storming of (the Homs neighborhood of) Baba Amr represented an
extra negative point against the regime,” he added.
“Demonstrations in Homs did not stop after the storming of Baba Amr and in my opinion the Syrian revolution cannot go backwards.”
Asked about the entry of Syrian gunmen to Lebanon, Geagea said: “We do not accept at all the entry of gunmen from Syria and should a gunman enter Lebanon he must hand over his weapon and we must treat him as a political refugee.”
“We must aid refugees according to the international standards, but it is wrong to describe them as infiltrators with all that is happening in Syria,” he said.
Slamming Premier Najib Miqati’s government over its domestic and regional policies, Geagea described it as “the worst and most unsuccessful government in Lebanon’s history.”
Source: Naharnet
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