Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai addressing the nation on Christmas Eve, December, 24, 2022. (Credit: Twitter/@bkerki)
Maronite patriarch Bechara al-Rai, said Saturday that "all political information indicates that a plan is in place against Lebanon," as the country continues to struggle with an unprecedented economic crisis and political deadlock.
No president has been elected since former president Michel Aoun's term ended Oct. 31, and the current government remains in caretaker status.
'Why are you destroying the state?'
"All the political information indicates that a plan against Lebanon is in place, to establish a presidential vacancy to which is added a constitutional vacuum, complicating more and more the presidential election," the Maronite patriarch said.
He did not speculate who might be behind such a plot.
In his homilies, the prelate regularly attacks the Lebanese political class, including Hezbollah, but does so implicitly. Rai did not fail to offer criticisms again during his Christmas sermon.
"They are preventing our state from having a president of the Republic for personal, sectarian and foreign reasons," Rai said, without naming the forces he accuses.
"Why are you taking revenge on Lebanon, why are you destroying the state?" the cleric asked. Recalling that the presidential election is according to him the top priority, he criticized the fact that "someone wants a president who belongs to him, with a project that belongs to him, not a president for the historical Lebanese project."
"But we will not allow this," Rai warned. The country "is not the property of one side without the other."
The presidential election process is currently polarized around two camps in Parliament: Hezbollah MPs and their allies — including Amal, Marada Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement — who have so far mostly voted blank in the presidential election sessions, pitted against opposition MPs including the Lebanese Forces, Forces of Change and some independents.
Several MPs have voted for Zghorta MP Michel Moawad, but not enough to elect him to the presidency.
Geagea and the presidential priority
For his part, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea again accused "the other side" of hindering this election.
"We have said it over and over again: even if a candidate from the other camp manages to gather 65 votes (the majority) in Parliament, we will probably abstain from one or two electoral sessions. But we will not prevent the presidential election from taking place," Geagea said.
"Unfortunately, I do not see my hope for the presidential election to be realized in the next two or three weeks," he continued.
Aaqibiye's 'political crime'
Cardinal Rai also reemphasized his recent proposal to hold an international conference on Lebanon, under the auspices of the United Nations.
On Saturday, he reaffirmed this idea while speaking from Bkirki: "So that our country is neutral in the face of any military conflict and that the situation remains under control, in this period of unknown in the region."
This suggestion has divided the local political class, with some believing that only Parliament can find a way out of the crisis. According to some analysts, even the international community, notably the Vatican, would not be in favor of such a conference at the moment.
"A political crime was committed in Aaqibiye, the murder of an Irish peacekeeper, and it is as if it were a passing event," Rai said, referring to the attack that claimed the life of an Irish UNIFIL soldier on Dec. 14 in the southern Lebanon village, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the incident. An investigation is underway, and its initial results have identified suspects and indicated that the incident was premeditated.
