In Dimane, land ownership reorganization divides Church and residents

Along the Cedars of Bsharri road in the mountains of northern Lebanon, the village of Dimane, known as the summer seat of the Maronite Patriarchate, whose main headquarters is in Bkirki in Kesrouan, overlooks the Qadisha Valley and is often described as a quiet green refuge.In recent weeks, however, it has been shaken by a dispute over land ownership and rights to agricultural use.The tone was set in a statement issued on Jan. 23 by Father Tony Agha, the patriarchal steward of Dimane. He said that the ongoing land demarcation process was “purely organizational,” aimed at preventing potential encroachments between local partners or with the patriarchate itself. The goal, he added, was to encourage partners not to neglect the plots entrusted to them, “without any legal change to the nature of their relationship with the patriarchate.” In...