Geagea: Arab Spring Will Create Societies that Will Better Serve Christians' Development
Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea noted on Thursday that major revolutions cause pain to all those involved, especially Christians because they are smaller in numbers than the rest of the population in the Arab world.
He said in an interview to the BBC: “The Arab Spring will however produce open-minded societies that will provide better development for the Christians.”
“Christians will be able to meet their potential in these societies rather than in the totalitarian and autocratic ones, such as that of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein or Syrian President Bashar Assad,” he remarked.
Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Lebanon will provide the Christians in Lebanon and the Middle East with a “moral boost,” he added.
“The Assad regime will be replaced with moderate Sunnis and minorities of Christians, Druze, Kurds, and Alawites. Such a combination cannot be extremist,” he said of fears that the current regime in Syria may be replaced with a fundamentalist one.
“There can be no talk of the role of Christians or Muslims in the region under the rule of the Baath regime in Syria,” remarked the LF leader.
On whether the fate of Christians in the region is in jeopardy, Geagea said: “I believe they have overcome the most difficult phase of the Arab Spring.”
“The future will be better. Christians can prosper in open-minded societies and I am optimistic on the long-run even though several obstacles await us,” he stated.
Moreover, he also ruled out the possibility of the partition of Syria.
“Even if does go down that path, I do not think it will impact Lebanon,” he added.
The Vatican and Maronite church are doing all they can to combat the dangers facing the Christians in the region, he continued.
“The very existence of the Maronite church is a major encouragement to the Christians in Lebanon. The rest is up to the politicians to provide them with freedom, democracy, and necessary economic factors,” he noted.
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