Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said Sunday it was the duty of Arab regimes to protect Christians in the Orient, warning against the rise of Salafist groups.
“The responsibility to preserve the security of the Christians in the Orient lies on the Arab regimes,” Aoun told the Christians of the Orient conference that closed on Sunday.
He called on them to appease the fears of the Christians.
“Our societies today are suffering from the return of Salafism and it's our role to raise our voice and issue warnings,” Aoun said.
Aoun said the Christians should resort to a democratic state amid the rise of Takfiri groups and totalitarianism.
He also said the diminishing role of Christians is tantamount to “racism.”
“Takfiri movements contradict in their thought all types of human rights and reject democracy,” he warned.
The Christians see a secular state as the last option over the threat posed by Salafists and after the fall of Arab nationalism, he said.
“A strong state could not be built without change and reform,” Aoun told the conference's participants.
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