Al-Rahi Travels to Geneva, Says New President Should be Honorable
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday traveled to Switzerland on a five-day official visit, reiterating his call for the election of an “honorably” strong president.
Al-Rahi, who headed to Geneva, was accompanied by Bishop Boulos Matar and Bkirki spokesman Walid Ghayyad.
The patriarch is expected during his five-day trip to give a lecture, and meet with U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Lebanese community members in Geneva.
Al-Rahi reiterated to reporters before traveling to Geneva that Lebanon is in need for a president who is “strong in his morals ... and his impartiality.”
The new president should “believe in the state and bring back its dignity,” he said at Rafik Hariri International Airport.
He should also help the state institutions regain their role and have strong ties with the international community, including Arab countries, al-Rahi added.
The patriarch thanked Speaker Nabih Berri for the efforts he is exerting to hold the presidential elections.
But he urged him to call for a parliamentary session as soon as possible.
The legislature is yet to convene to elect a successor to President Michel Suleiman whose six-year term ends on May 25.
Only Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has officially announced his candidacy although there are many contenders, including his rival Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun.
G.K.
H.K.
07 April 2014, 09:03
93
Al-Rahi Travels to Geneva, Says New President Should be Honorable...........
No kidding (he just discovered gun powder)
07 April 2014, 12:59
11
Your Eminence, which is why these names will not do for us all: Samir Geagea, Michel Aoun, Amin Gemayel, Suleiman Frangieh. New faces Your Eminence, new people, the younger generation is what we all need, the old guard belongs to the past, the past cannot bring solutions, the past brings its old ghosts. Let the past remain in the past, let us learn from our past, our bitter past, and let us find a good person from that dynamic young generation, they are our future, they are the ones that will propel us forward. The old guard simply wants to keep us in the past, and we are now definitely tired, tired to the point where we want someone to inject new hope in us, not old poison, please.
07 April 2014, 18:14
10
I'm not Lebanese but I consider myself some sort of Christian and I really would like Mr. al Rahi to explain how the Taef Accord that gives the Christian minority half the seats in Parliament. A word like "honorable" is not a religious word, but he's wearing his offical mushroom on his head and I think he should make an account of his faith, as Peter says in the New Testament. How is it Christian to get more power per vote than non-Christian? This sounds like rendering unto Caesar what belongs to God: people should "matter" according to their humanity, not according to who their family is. In fact, I think that maybe the entire Gospel message: human equality.
08 April 2014, 03:50
01
I believe you when you say you consider yourself sort of Christian. It is plain and evident in all your posts. WHat sort of christian are you may I ask? A Shi3a christian, Sunni Christian or alawite christian.... I am on pins and needles waiting to hear your reply.
