Lebanon is witnessing a dramatic change in the pace of its revolution. What was once a peaceful and massive civil disobedience has turned into a full-on raging revolution.
At the government ignoring its people and their 90-day of outcry to save the country, a Week of Anger was declared to increase the pressure on the officials.
Unfortunately, things went out of control on Saturday as Beirut turned into a war-zone of protesters, security forces, and political partisans. The heartbreaking aftermath counts hundreds of injured on all sides.
In response, Patriarch Al Rahi stated in his Sunday sermon: “Humanity is the only language that all people understand and engage in dialogue with. Without it, power becomes self-serving for private interests, extending the hand of theft of public money and a way to deprive people of their rights.”
He went on saying that “if the officials in Lebanon had an iota of humanity, especially those who are obstructing the formation of a government,” they would have already formed one.
Addressing the officials, he stated: “You bear the responsibility of shame and disgrace for what happened in Hamra and Beirut.”
He declared standing by the people and their demands, calling on the officials to meet the demands of the people who have been in the streets for 93 days, revolting in the cold and the rain.
He further expressed his belief that the current politicians have distorted the meaning and essence of politics as an honorable art.
He urged them to heed the people’s demands and hasten the formation of a government that represents the protesters.
According to him, these politicians are supposed to be in the service of the citizens and the common good.
He denounced the events that took place in Hamra, saying that “they are not among our Lebanese values, customs, and honor” and holding the politicians responsible.
According to Al-Rahi, the government should be held accountable for growing the public debt, dropping the GDP, and the dismissal of 18,000 employees, including the 9000 in the past 3 months, especially in the tourism sector, which has led to a rise in the number of the poverty and unemployment in the country.
That’s in addition to the hospital crisis and the lack of medicines and equipment, depriving the people of their basic rights, as he stated.
The Maronite Patriarch went on issuing four pertinent requests:
- To the state: Not to underestimate the youth revolution and its demands, and to avoid any negative retaliation.
- To those tasked with forming the new government: To hasten the formation of the new government in order to save the country and its people away from the current one.
- To the army and the internal security forces: To exert more efforts in maintaining security in the cities and preventing collisions between citizens.
- To the international community: To take Lebanon’s issues into serious consideration as Lebanon plays an important role in the Middle East.
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