Former Minister Beshara Merhej said that the positions launched by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi were realistic and logical. He read in the negative reactions an expression of the rigid positions, taken by some local and intern

Beshara Merhej to Al-Manar Website:
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Rahi’s Rhetoric Logical… His Critics Are Not
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Blind Extremism Threatens Whole Region…
Syria’s Stability Interest for Lebanon, Syria
Nations’ Will Cannot Be Falsified, Defeated

Former Minister in Lebanon Beshara Merhej said that the positions launched by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi were realistic and logical. He read in the negative reactions an expression of the rigid positions, taken by some local and international sides, which look at things from only one side.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, Merhej denied that the partriarch’s remarks constitute a “coup” against Bkirki’s historical path, and said that the remarks correct this path and return Bkirki to its correct position. He also noted that the majority of the critics were addressed against the person of Patriarch Rahi, not to his opinions.

Meanwhile, Merhej said that the renewed Egyptian uprising , “Intifada”, was a lesson to Tel Aviv and all those who approve the Israeli policy, a lesson stating that the nations’ will could be neither falsified nor defeated.

 

BETWEEN PATRIARCH RAHI AND LEBANESE UNITY
Former Minister Beshara Merhej pointed, during his interview with Al-Manar Website, to the positions taken by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi during his latest trip to France. He said that the patriarch was expressing his personal vision to the Lebanese unity which should be based on understanding among Lebanese in order to achieve independence through mutual struggle.
He noted that Patriarch Rahi wanted to say that “whatever harms a region of Lebanon actually harms all Lebanon” and the whole Lebanese nation. “The patriarch stressed the necessity to face the Zionist occupation of the Lebanese land and the Israeli ongoing threats to Lebanon’s sovereignty, and highlighted the role of the United Nations in carrying out its own resolutions,” he said.

“Given that these United Nations are unable, or better unwilling, to execute these resolutions as a result of the Israeli pressure, this gives us the right to defend our land through all legal means, including the Resistance represented by Hezbollah,” Merhej went on to say. “This is in brief what Patriarch Rahi said,” he added.

WHY DID THEY ABANDON LOGICAL DISCUSSION?
Merhej pointed out that the patriarch’s remarks were realistic and logical, which paved the way for a series of reactions at both local and international levels. He read in the negative reactions an expression of the rigid positions, taken by some local and international sides, which look at things from only one side.
“For them, the Resistance issue is for instance isolated from the Israeli occupation. This is how they see things, and this is why they are mistaken. After all, their refusal of the patriarch’s remarks comes in the framework of their own political views.”

Merhej noted that what would be even stranger was that the majority of the critics were addressed against the person of Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi and not against his statements and positions.
“It seems they perceive the cohesion and solidity of the patriarch’s arguments as well as their convincing level, and thus they favored to abandon logical discussion of their content,” he explained.

BETWEEN COUP AND CORRECTION…
Commenting on the claims of some March 14 officials that the patriarch’s remarks constitute a “coup” against Bkirki’s historical march, Merhej said such claims were not accurate at all, given that the patriarch’s remarks actually correct the path of Bkirti and take it back to its correct role and reference. “The Maronite reference is Lebanese per excellence as it assumes its responsibilities in the face of all Lebanese without exception,” he said.

Answering a question about the patriarch’s remarks over Syria’s developments and whether he shares with him his justified fears of any change in the regime, Merhej said that the patriarch speaks on behalf of a big number of Lebanese and Arabs when he expressed fears of some deterioration in Syria. He stressed that the stability in Syria was the interest of both Lebanon and Syria, given that Patriarch Rahi stressed the solid relationship between stability and reform. Merhej also voiced support to the patriarch in his warning against the blind extremism which “threatens the whole region, especially when it appears that it has nothing to do with religion.”

FAILURE OF US-ISRAELI POLICY
Merhej also tackled the latest developments in Cairo which led to the withdrawal of the Israeli ambassador after Egyptian youth stormed the embassy’s building and raised the Egyptian flag. He said that the developments in Egypt confirmed the failure of the American-Israeli policy based on falsifying facts, imposing normalization of ties and neglecting the rights of the Palestinian people.

Merhej said that the Egyptian people have declared a new stage while overthrowing the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. He noted that the true reasons behind the Egyptian popular Intifada were the regime’s ties with the American foreign policy and its compliance with the Israeli demands. He concluded that the renewed Intifada in Egypt represented a lesson to Tel Aviv and all those who approved the Israeli policy, a lesson stating that the nations’ will could be neither falsified nor defeated.