Maronite Church leader Bechara Rai during his Sunday homily, March 5, 2023. (Credit: NNA)
While the Maronite Patriarch, Bechara Rai, has remained notably silent regarding the arrest of former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, the head of the Maronite Church expressed, during his Sunday homily, a critique concerning "violations against positions reserved for Christians, particularly Maronites." Some observers interpreted this as his first response to the Salameh case. His message was directed at those he holds responsible for the ongoing presidential vacuum, which has persisted since the end of Michel Aoun’s term in October 2022. This vacancy has also affected the leadership of the Banque du Liban, traditionally held by a Maronite, and since Salameh’s retirement in July 2023, it has been temporarily occupied by First Vice-Governor Wissam Mansouri, a Shia.
Riad Salameh, who has been in provisional detention since last Tuesday, is awaiting interrogation by Beirut’s First Investigating Judge Bilal Halaoui on Monday. He could either submit to the interrogation or exercise his legal right to present procedural objections. In the latter case, Judge Halawi will have a week to rule on their acceptance or rejection before proceeding with the investigation, which could lead either to Salameh’s release or to an arrest warrant being issued against him.
In his Sunday homily, Bechara Rai once again denounced the ongoing presidential vacancy, "which has now lasted for almost two years," while Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri continues to refuse to hold a session to elect a new president, conditioning it on a prior dialogue among all parties—a proposal that the main Christian factions continue to reject. "The extension of the presidential vacuum—which seems intentional—is negatively impacting the functioning of institutions, leading to the disintegration of administrations and violations of laws, including attacks on Maronite Christian positions within the state, which seriously threaten coexistence," the patriarch stated.
This is not the first time the head of the Church has warned of the risk that Christians may gradually lose their positions within the state. Besides his consistent calls for the presidential vacancy to be filled, the Maronite prelate has previously taken stances that were seen as defending the position held by the former BDL governor, a figure heavily criticized since the onset of Lebanon's economic crisis in 2019.
Christian marginalization
"I don’t believe Patriarch Rai’s remarks are linked to the arrest of Riad Salameh. The head of the Church has consistently pointed out that there is now a plethora of state positions that are no longer held by Christians (especially in cases of retirements) and are now, on an interim basis, occupied by non-Christians," says Eddy Maalouf, a former MP from the Free Patriotic Movement, to L’Orient-Le Jour. Maalouf referred to positions such as the director-general roles at the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Urban Planning, among other roles within the administration, which were once held by Christians but are now not. "It should also be noted that even within the caretaker government, the Christian ministers do not represent the main parties of the community," he added, referring notably to Georges Kallas, the outgoing Minister of Sports, an independent, and Georges Bouchikian, the outgoing Minister of Industry, who was distanced by the Tashnag Party.
On this topic, Cesar Abou Khalil, an MP and former Aounist minister, went even further in his criticism, in line with the patriarch, of "all those, including some Christians, who have endorsed the functioning of a caretaker government, thus contributing to prolonging the executive vacuum." "The caretaker government that Mikati is supposed to be running has now become the norm in public life. By recognizing this government and endorsing its actions, the Constitution has been trampled on, and the prerogatives of the presidency have been undermined," the former minister explained. According to him, the patriarch’s outcry has nothing to do with Salameh’s case, "who has long left his post," but rather with the injustice suffered by Christians within the state.
According to a Lebanese Forces official, speaking on condition of anonymity, Patriarch Rai is raising his voice to exert greater pressure, stating that the ongoing presidential vacuum is an attack on Christians and Maronites. He argues that those preventing the election and seeking to marginalize the Christian community within the state are proponents of Shia political power.