Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai sponsored on Thursday the launch of the "Gathering for the State of Greater Lebanon" at Bkerke, an initiative by the Conference for Civil Society Dialogue (CSID) association. The initiative calls for a return to the neglected principles of Greater Lebanon from 1943, with a focus on positive neutrality advocated within the framework of the National Pact, asserting "neither East nor West."
Various personalities present emphasized in their respective speeches "the necessity of neutrality, building a state based on the Lebanon of 1920 (a single state) and 1943 (a state with a constitution) and implementing the National Pact that consecrates peaceful coexistence among all."
In attendance were former President Amine Gemayel, caretaker Ministers of Education and Economy Abbas Halabi and Amin Salam, Hayat Arslan, MPs Ashraf Rifi and Adib Abdel Massih, as well as Moustafa Hani Fahs and Antoine Messara, alongside religious leaders, diplomats and political, social and syndicate activists.
In his opening remarks, the Patriarch hailed it as "an act of faith in Lebanon."
Amine Gemayel expressed his hope that today's Greater Lebanon could once again become a "model of diversity and constructive pluralism." He noted that this model was undermined over the years by "peripheral countries" whose policies are mostly based on "unilateralism and totalitarianism." He cited Syria, Nasserism, Libya, Yasser Arafat's PLO, the establishment of the State of Israel and "today, Iran" as factors contributing to weakening the "free, sovereign and independent" Lebanon.
Hayat Arslan then presented the three principles on which the new gathering is based, inviting reformists and the new generations to join. The first pertains to "respect for the Constitution, which should be the religion of the State." The second focuses on "implementing positive neutrality as a means to preserve Lebanon," and the third emphasizes "adherence to international resolutions" favoring the restoration of the rule of law.
She assured that "this meeting will be followed by others" and concluded her speech by recalling Imam Mohammad Mehdi Chamseddine, who had called on the Shiite community to fully integrate into Lebanon and abandon any specific project.
MP Ashraf Rifi affirmed that present-day Lebanon is "the State of Greater Lebanon with an area of 10,452 km2," defending Lebanon as a "laboratory of coexistence that must be protected" from anything that threatens its essence.
Various personalities present emphasized in their respective speeches "the necessity of neutrality, building a state based on the Lebanon of 1920 (a single state) and 1943 (a state with a constitution) and implementing the National Pact that consecrates peaceful coexistence among all."
In attendance were former President Amine Gemayel, caretaker Ministers of Education and Economy Abbas Halabi and Amin Salam, Hayat Arslan, MPs Ashraf Rifi and Adib Abdel Massih, as well as Moustafa Hani Fahs and Antoine Messara, alongside religious leaders, diplomats and political, social and syndicate activists.
In his opening remarks, the Patriarch hailed it as "an act of faith in Lebanon."
Amine Gemayel expressed his hope that today's Greater Lebanon could once again become a "model of diversity and constructive pluralism." He noted that this model was undermined over the years by "peripheral countries" whose policies are mostly based on "unilateralism and totalitarianism." He cited Syria, Nasserism, Libya, Yasser Arafat's PLO, the establishment of the State of Israel and "today, Iran" as factors contributing to weakening the "free, sovereign and independent" Lebanon.
Hayat Arslan then presented the three principles on which the new gathering is based, inviting reformists and the new generations to join. The first pertains to "respect for the Constitution, which should be the religion of the State." The second focuses on "implementing positive neutrality as a means to preserve Lebanon," and the third emphasizes "adherence to international resolutions" favoring the restoration of the rule of law.
She assured that "this meeting will be followed by others" and concluded her speech by recalling Imam Mohammad Mehdi Chamseddine, who had called on the Shiite community to fully integrate into Lebanon and abandon any specific project.
MP Ashraf Rifi affirmed that present-day Lebanon is "the State of Greater Lebanon with an area of 10,452 km2," defending Lebanon as a "laboratory of coexistence that must be protected" from anything that threatens its essence.
This Is Beirut
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