Aoun urges Lebanese to protect coexistence, anticipates outcomes of Salam's visit to Iraq

Beirut – Mansour Shaaban: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged his citizens to protect coexistence in Lebanon and its civilizational message. This came in a speech by President Aoun on the occasion of the beatification of Maronite Patriarch Elias Hoayek, who played a prominent role in the establishment of Greater Lebanon in 1920.

Aoun stated that “Patriarch Elias Hoayek was the father of the idea of Lebanon as a whole. He never separated his faith from his struggle; rather, he made his faith the fuel for his struggle for the establishment of a free and sovereign Lebanese state.”

Aoun pointed out the coincidence that “the declaration of Patriarch Hoayek’s beatification coincides with the centenary of the promulgation of the Lebanese Constitution,” adding that Hoayek “contributed to placing Lebanon on the map of nations, and today he reminds us that the message of this homeland is greater than its crises, and that its foundational idea deserves our protection and defense. Let us make this day an occasion to renew our pledge to the idea he championed: Lebanon as a land of coexistence and a civilizational message between East and West.”

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Raï led the beatification ceremony, which was attended by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, head of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican, sent as a representative of Pope Leo XIV, and the Papal Nuncio, Monsignor Paolo Borgia, along with a number of officials, ministers, and members of parliament.

Meanwhile, MP Brigadier General Ashraf Rifi expressed his keen interest in the visit of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to Iraq and its economic repercussions. In a statement, he said that the term under President Aoun’s presidency and Prime Minister Salam’s government “has broken the developmental siege imposed by previous mandate-era governments on the North. We hope to continue revitalizing all economic facilities, foremost among them the Qleiatat Airport (President the Late René Moawad Airport) and the Special Economic Zone in Tripoli.”

Rifi also drew attention to the political attack launched by MP Antoine Habchi, a member of the “Strong Republic” bloc, against Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, criticizing his management of the parliamentary chamber and the state. At the same time, he defended the path led by President Aoun, considering that it had restored Lebanese decision-making to the state and prevented Iran from negotiating on behalf of Lebanon. He emphasized that Lebanon’s ability to negotiate on its own constitutes an achievement in itself, even with difficulties in implementation, noting that President Aoun operates within a realistic balance of power and that the alternative to this path “is much worse.”

In the south, the situation remains unchanged, with major explosions affecting Mansouri, Kafr Bnin, and Hula, as well as the burning of homes in several towns and villages, alongside attacks on official and educational facilities and commercial institutions. This prompted the Bint Jbeil municipality to raise its voice in a lengthy statement condemning “the continued crimes and violations committed by the Israeli enemy against the city, its residents, and its public and private facilities, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and all covenants prohibiting the targeting of civilians and civilian objects and public institutions.”