Maronite Patriarch Mar Beshara Boutros Rai said Sunday that if the next government is in the form of its predecessors, then Lebanon will be in complete ruin.
“If the Cabinet is formed in the form of its predecessors, God forbid, total catastrophe will result from it,” Rai said during his Sunday sermon.
Speaking on Lebanon’s 77th Independence Day, Rai said that the country’s independence does not mean the end of the French mandate, but its “departure from the politics of different axes to the scope of neutrality so it doesn’t side with neither the East nor West.”
Best wishes to the people of Lebanon on the republic’s 77th anniversary of independence. The United States stands by the people of Lebanon and remains committed to supporting them as they face unprecedented challenges.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 22, 2020
Lebanon gained independence in 1943 after a 23-year French mandate rule ended, and the occasion is celebrated on Nov. 22 every year.
On its Independence Day, Lebanon is confronting an array of unprecedented challenges, from an economic collapse, a social disaster with rising poverty levels to a public health crisis due to a global pandemic, all exacerbated by a political crisis as political forces continue to butt heads over the formation of a desperately needed government. Lebanon has been in a political vacuum for over three months now, since the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s on Aug. 10 in the aftermath of the devastating Beirut Port blast.
“The Lebanese people are all tired of waiting for a new government that will rescue the country,” Rai said. He added that the same old methods used by political forces in obstructing the formation of the government, by sharing spoils and seats, have only reinforced corruption and the squandering and waste of public funds that has plunged the country into a state of collapse and bankruptcy.
“What is strange is that they [politicians] reject discussions, opinions, advice and warnings and act contrary to the Constitution,” Rai said.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
