BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president has been urged to free the country from “captors and oppressors” by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi.
The country’s top Christian cleric also called on the government to resume Cabinet sessions, which have been suspended since mid-October due to a boycott from Hezbollah and Amal movement ministers.
Hezbollah and the Amal movement have said they will attend sessions once Tarek Bitar, the judge leading the probe into the Beirut port blast, is removed from the case.
These ministers represent the Shiite sect in the government and holding sessions without them is a violation of the Cabinet’s charter.
“A government without a Cabinet is a strange phenomenon that permits singling out administrative decisions without the government’s approval as a whole,” Al-Rahi said. “Some want the Lebanese people to get used to the absence of constitutional authorities in order to create another Lebanon that does not resemble itself, its structures, its environment, its history or its civilization.”
President Michel Aoun and the cleric had a closed meeting on Saturday, with Aoun wishing for the Lebanese to “enjoy better conditions” during the holidays, while Al-Rahi hoped that the president could “find ways to free Lebanon from its captors and oppressors, with the help of officials with good intentions toward the country and its people.”
Aoun participated in the Christmas Mass in Bkerke, with Al-Rahi using his sermon to stress that the state must overcome the collapse that officials had brought upon the country “following years of serving their personal interests and prioritizing the interests of the parties they are loyal to.”
Addressing Aoun, Al-Rahi reiterated his demand to maintain Lebanon's neutrality in order to restore its balance and position in the Arab world.
“We support you in calling out anyone who harms the unity of the state and national partnership, the democratic system, the Lebanese army's role and the judiciary's work, and prevents the implementation of the Constitution and international resolutions. We strongly support your commitment to holding parliamentary elections per the Constitution.”
In a television interview broadcast on Friday night, Aoun said: “Lebanon needs six to seven years to overcome the crisis it is experiencing. The Lebanese are suffering today as a result of actions taken by those who were previously in power. Eastern Christianity can only survive through Christian-Islamic dialogue. We need social and political maturity to be able to build a civil state in Lebanon.”
Aoun will give a speech on Monday addressing Lebanon’s current situation and the government crisis in particular.
Lebanon’s Christmas Eve atmosphere was marred by caution over the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, making matters worse for the many Lebanese families already struggling.
Those in charge of the healthcare situation fear that non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures over the holidays may portend a great danger, especially since the occupancy rate of COVID-19 beds has reached 80 percent at hospitals across Lebanon.
MP Assem Araji, a cardiologist who heads Parliament's health committee, said that 660 out of the 900 beds designated for COVID-19 patients had been filled, while medical supplies were not available. He expressed concerns of “a disaster after the holidays.”
The head of the Doctors’ Syndicate, Sharaf Abu Sharaf, warned against people not taking preventive measures seriously.
“Around 2,500 doctors and 3,000 nurses have left the country so we lack staff in addition to lacking equipment, medical supplies and medicines. Meanwhile, 60 percent of people are still unvaccinated,” he said.
