Al-Rahi: Miqati Hasn't Let Me Down and It's Up to Judiciary to Decide on Port Probe

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has announced that he is “against the government’s resignation,” noting that its prime minister Najib Miqati has not let him down.

“I have appreciated his acceptance to head a government in these circumstances, but unfortunately the obstructors have paralyzed the government through illegal means,” al-Rahi added in an interview with LBCI television.

“Those paralyzing the government today are committing a crime against the country and citizens,” the patriarch charged.

As for the probe into the Beirut port blast, al-Rahi said the matter is “an issue that is the judiciary’s specialty,” adding that “the principle of the separation of powers must be respected.”

“Jurisdiction is something to be decided by the judiciary, not by the government nor by parliament,” the patriarch went on to say.

He also hit back at veiled accusations made by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, stressing that “the church has not interfered in the Tayyouneh incidents case.”

“I do not know Judge Fadi Akiki and I have never met him, and in the Beirut port blast case, I do not know Judge Fadi Sawwan nor Judge Tarek Bitar and I am deliberately choosing so,” al-Rahi added, emphasizing that the church has not stepped in to push for the release of the Tayyouneh detainees.