23 April 2011

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai voiced hope Friday that Lebanon would eventually be able to form a new government and overcome its deepening political and economic crisis.

In his first Easter message since his election as head of the Maronite Church last month, replacing Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, Rai said he hoped that the occasion of Jesus Christs resurrection would reflect positively on Lebanons national life, which has been plagued by tensions as a result of political divisions by the March 8 and March 14 parties.

We hope that Lebanon, as a result of the good intentions, will rise from the crisis of the Cabinets formation and from the deteriorating situation, Rai said in his televised speech at the Maronite patriarchates seat in Bkirki.

He said the Lebanese were reeling under the economic, social and cost-of-living burdens of the political crisis and from the drain of emigration and despair of a better future for the next generation.

We hope that a dawn of peace, stability and understanding will break in the holy places and Arab countries suffering from turmoil, Rai added.

The patriarch expressed his wishes for peace in Lebanon, the region and the entire world, and also announced that he would be unable to receive well-wishers on Easter Day.

The Orthodox Bishop of Beirut, Elias Aoude, celebrated mass in downtown Beirut, while the Greek Catholic patriarch, Gregorious III Lahham, issued a televised Easter message on the occasion.

President Michel Sleiman and his wife Wafaa attended Good Friday services at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kaslik, in a ceremony headed by Father Tannous Neameh, the head of the Maronite Order of Monks.

For his part, the Syriac Catholic patriarch, Ignatius Youssef III Younan, lamented the deep divisions among the Lebanese.

It is painful for us to observe our Lebanon today, which has been nearly eroded by divisions and disputes, while the public political discourse is growing more distant from the type of civil behavior that builds societies, the patriarch said in his message on the occasion of Good Friday.

Younan also lamented the targeting of Christians by terror groups in Iraq, even though Christians have deep roots in Mesopotamia.

The issue of the stalled government formation was also central in Friday sermons by Muslim preachers.

Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, vice-president of the Higher Shiite Council, also called for a quick formation of a new cabinet to deal with the countrys worsening economic crisis.

We call on politicians to quickly form a national salvation government to tackle all problems and crises from which the Lebanese are suffering. The new government must devote its time to handling the peoples affairs and solving their social, cost-of-living, health and educational problems, Qabalan said in a sermon after Friday prayers.

Referring to popular uprisings in the Arab world, Qabalan said: Our countries are living in distress and sorrow. We cannot keep silent on what is happening in Libya and we cannot accept what is happening in Yemen. All [parties] must stay away from aggression and injustice. We want our countries to be prosperous and our people reassured of a life of prosperity and well-being.

The remarks by Rai and Qabalan came as the three-month-long Cabinet deadlock marked time with no signs of an early formation of a new government. Speaker Nabih Berri expressed optimism Wednesday after meeting Sleiman, saying that the new Cabinet will see the light of day following the Easter holiday.

The Cabinet formation efforts have been put on hold after Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati left Beirut for London on a private visit to spend the Easter holiday there.

Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun said Tuesday Mikati was making slow progress in his attempts to form a new government to replace caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariris toppled Cabinet.

Political sources said that the row over the Interior Ministry portfolio between Sleiman and Aoun is holding up the Cabinets formation.

After Aouns bloc and other parties in the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance have endorsed Mikatis latest draft 30-member Cabinet lineup, discussion is now focused on the distribution of portfolios.

Hariris parliamentary Future bloc and its March 14 allies have warned of the negative consequences on the countrys economy as a result of the delay in the Cabinets formation.

Copyright The Daily Star 2011.