Christian Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai insisted on Sunday that only the state and its institutions can protect the Lebanese.
“We refuse to receive protection from anyone and only the state, the presidency, the institutions, the army and the security forces can protect us,” al-Rai said during a visit to Rashaya’s mufti Sheikh Ahmed al-Ladan.
The visit was part of the patriarch’s tour of the Bekaa region which he started on Friday.
Al Rai’s remarks were reportedly in response to MP Michel Aoun’ s comments on August 8 .
The FPM leader praised his ally Hezbollah and its role inside Syria and its borders with Lebanon .
“Had it not been for Hezbollah and its defense of Lebanon, Christians would face the same one as those of Nineveh in Iraq.” He said in reference to the persecution of minorities at the hand of jihadists.
Al-Rai has repeatedly called for the election of a new president, since the presidential vacuum has started to cripple the work of the government and the parliament in recent months.
The Lebanese parliament failed last month and and for the 26th time in a row to elect a president to replace Michel Suleiman whose term ended on May 25 last year.
As in the past sessions the parliament was unable to reach a quorum because the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group and its ally Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc MPs boycotted the sessions.
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