Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rai, warned that Lebanon’s identity and its message of co-existence are threatened with distortion and collapse. He blamed the non-compliance with the constitution and non-implementation of the Taif Agreement, in addition to failure to elect a president.
Patriarch Al-Rai thanked the five-country committee for bearing Lebanon’s concerns and future more than the Lebanese authorities who continue to demolish it.
He renewed Lebanon’s demand for the return of the displaced Syrians to their homeland, in order to preserve their identity and mission in their homeland on the one hand, and that they not be a cause for distorting Lebanon’s identity and mission on the other hand.
He accused the international community of “protecting” Syrian refugees at Lebanon’s expense.
“It is the duty of Lebanese MPs and officials in collaboration with the international community to work on their return and provide aid for them over there,” he added.