Naharnet

Bkirki Meeting on Marginalization of Christians Postponed

A meeting that was set to take place in Bkirki among Christian cabinet ministers on Friday to discuss the marginalization of Christians in civil service has been postponed, Bishop Boulos Sayyah said.

“The meeting was postponed and was replaced by bilateral talks with cabinet ministers to resolve the crisis of the absence of Christians from state institutions,” Sayyah told al-Joumhouria daily published Thursday.

“Christian ministers and lawmakers are making contacts and doing what is necessary to rectify the imbalance in the institutions,” he said.

“We can no longer hide this crisis that blew up recently and is being discussed a lot in the media,” added the bishop.

Sayyah denied that Muslim religious officials had pressured Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to postpone Friday's meeting.

The issue has been in the public eye in the past years but it gained momentum when ministers from Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal movement were accused of marginalizing Christians despite their denial.

Last week, the council of Maronite bishops called for a balanced participation of all sects in state institutions.

The employment of civil servants from all sects should also “be based on competency, integrity and the willingness to fight corruption, which has become rampant in most institutions,” they said.

G.K.

D.A.


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/201826