March 14 Leaders Discuss Repercussions of Maronite Meeting in Bkirki
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Opposition leaders have held talks to discuss the approval of both pro-March 8 and 14 Maronite leaders of a proposal by the Orthodox Gathering for each sect to choose its own representatives in the 2013 parliamentary elections, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said that the March 14 leaders stressed the importance of discussing the proposal while taking into consideration the Taef Accord of 1989 which has called for the establishment of two parliaments: A non-sectarian legislature and a senate that elects its members along sectarian lines.
An Nahar quoted March 14 MP Marwan Hamadeh as saying that the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal would be discussed along with other issues, including the establishment of a senate as called for by the Taef and giving all sects a say on fateful issues.
The proposal has come under fire from officials from across the political spectrum who have claimed that it would isolate Christians from Muslims.
The country’s Maronite leaders - Phalange Party chief Amin Gemayel, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, and the head of the Marada Movement Suleiman Franjieh -unanimously approved the proposal during a meeting they held in Bkirki last week.
A five-member committee formed during the meeting held talks on Tuesday to agree on ways to launch dialogue with the country’s political parties on the proposal.
The committee includes MPs Butros Harb, George Adwan, Alain Aoun and Sami Gemayel, and former Minister Youssef Saadeh.
21 December 2011, 15:12
02
I truly wish we can separate state and church and just be one people, all equal, protected and free. just a simple wish :)
22 December 2011, 00:55
00
who benefits from the sectarian system? not the people but the political leaders and the clerics...
then they ask the people not to think sectarian but national when they themselves encourage this system because they make money out of it! and the clerics too!
it s up to the people to destroy this way of thinking but they seemed so drugged by their religions that they will stick to this reassuring system...and of course the politics play on that! "the other sects want our destruction so let s stick together to be strong! what will be a state without us if they want to destroy us all!" and so on... they ALL have the same speech,especially the minorities, haven t you noticed? at least they are united in saying that the others are the big danger!
maybe that s how lebanon still exists: united in its disunity!
w hala la wein?
22 December 2011, 02:15
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Lebanon, to mature as a state must get away from confessional identity politics. The Christians always lose if they stick with each other exclusively and the Moslems stick with each other exclusively. The separation of political interests based on confessional identity is a false separation. There are any number of economic and political interests that Christians share with Moslems and so coalitions should be formed between the two centered on common economic and political interests, not based on how and by what means they worship God.
