Bkirki Sources: Al-Rahi Asked Ban to Announce Lebanon a Neutral State
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has suggested to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to announce Lebanon as a neutral country, Bkirki sources told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily on Sunday.
The sources said that al-Rahi made the proposal during his visit to New York last month. He allegedly asked for U.N. assistance to achieve this objective which serves the stability of Lebanon and the region.
The suggestion complements another proposal made by President Michel Suleiman to transform Lebanon into a permanent center of dialogue between cultures and civilizations, al-Anbaa said.
“The positive neutrality that the patriarch is calling for means not to be a follower of any country or regional or international axis,” the sources said.
Al-Rahi celebrated mass in Bkirki on Sunday. In his sermon, he said that if Christians are minorities in the east then they should preserve their identities.
Bkirki’s press office has announced a postponement of the patriarch’s trip to the northern port city of Tripoli that was scheduled to take place on November 12 upon the request of Tripoli and the North Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar.
Al-Shaar is currently in Saudi Arabia to perform the hajj.
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