Lebanese Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi wants talks with Hezbollah

Lebanon’s oldest Christian cleric, Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, called for a meeting with Iran-backed political and paramilitary group Hezbollah, while he called for neutrality in regional conflicts to save the besieged Middle Eastern country from further chaos.

“I say there was no sincere and clear position on Hezbollah neutrality,” Al-Rahi told Hadley Gamble of CNBC in Beirut. “And I wait and call them to a meeting here, where we talk about neutrality and all its aspects, because neutrality is in the interest of all Lebanese and the first Hezbollah. Because they are also Lebanese. So, neutrality is in everyone’s interest.”

Lebanon Hezbollah, which is a Shiite Muslim, remains the strongest political party and militant group in the country. Acting as a representative of Iran, he is accused by many Lebanese and foreign governments of provoking sectarian tensions and bringing violence to Lebanon.

A small Mediterranean country of 6 million people has been hit by the growing crisis and growing poverty since the end of 2019 due to financial collapse, poor economic management and government corruption. Its feudal sectarian leaders have failed to form a government, leaving the country without effective leadership since its last prime minister resigned after a deadly blast in August 2020 passed through the capital Beirut, killing hundreds and displacing thousands.

Many Lebanese say that the scale of the current crisis, which has seen the country’s currency lose almost all its value, is far worse than the bloody civil war of 1975-1990 and that the coronavirus pandemic, which has overwhelmed its healthcare system, is less of their worries.

While Hezbollah’s opponents often describe the country as a group hostage, they also acknowledge that confrontation with the heavily armed organization, which also controls Beirut’s port and airport, could lead to a return to arms and a renewed civil war.

And Hezbollah, whose loyalty to Tehran, rather than the Lebanese constitution, is a large part of the Shiite community in Lebanon.

“I have not yet heard directly from Hezbollah whether it is against or with neutrality,” the patriarch said. “If he says ‘I am against’, I ask him if you are against Lebanon’s sovereignty, don’t you want Lebanon to be a sovereign state on its territory? If it’s true, you don’t want neutrality, no.” I don’t want Lebanon to fulfill its role. “

“Lebanon was (he) Switzerland in the Middle East – today it is hell, as the president once said,” Al-Rahi said. “It’s not something we can be proud of. That’s why we regret it.”

The patriarch spoke of a “strategy of mutual defense” proposed by previous presidents, but which never materialized; something that would have empowered unified foreign policy actions by the Lebanese state, rather than sectarian groups.

“Hezbollah should not remain free to use weapons whenever and wherever it wants,” Al-Rahi said. “And he should not be able to decide wars in Israel, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, disregarding the government, the president and the parliament. Therefore, the idea of ​​the mutual defense strategy was raised, but not realized. ”

“Hezbollah like the army or any other army in the world has no right to make a decision or decide to go to war or peace, it is the state that decides,” he added.

“But the cause of Hezbollah and weapons is much bigger than Lebanon and needs to be addressed internationally.”

The patriarch added that he had met with the previous group, but “we discussed issues that have nothing to do with weapons, because this is something beyond us.”

When regional powers are at odds, Lebanon is caught in the cross. This happened in 2005, when the then Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a plot that is believed to be the work of Hezbollah and the Syrian government.

Lebanon has long been the scene of power struggles of larger powers for regional influence. It hosts 18 different religious communities due to the arbitrary border designs of the French generals, who founded the state in 1926.

Its single consensus government, adapted to deal with a diverse population, is based on a power-sharing structure through which the prime minister, president and speaker must come from the country’s three largest religious groups: Sunnis, Christians Maronites and Shiites, respectively. Therefore, regional powers often exert influence in the country through these various groups.

The patriarch described Lebanon as asking the US “not to make Lebanon a negotiating card between the US and Iran when they want to resolve the nuclear issue”, referring to the controversial nuclear program in Tehran.

“The arms issue should also be addressed with Iran, because Iran is the source,” he added, calling Iran directly. “And it is well known that Hezbollah (is) an Iranian military force in Lebanon to fight Israel. Why should you fight Israel in Lebanon, if you want to fight Israel why do you want to use Lebanese territory?”

Hezbollah and Israel went to war in 2006, in a 34-day conflict, in which Israeli forces launched an offensive against Lebanon in response to Hezbollah rocket attacks and the killing of Israeli soldiers. There have been strikes and assassinations back and forth in the years since.

“We want an international conference and we also want the Security Council to take resolutions on the issue of weapons and militias in Lebanon. And around the issue of Lebanon, which extends its sovereignty throughout Lebanon, ” Al-Rahi said. His call for a UN-sponsored international conference has been criticized by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has previously said it will allow foreign interference.

The issue of Lebanon’s sovereignty over its entire territory, presented to the UN in previous resolutions, should be addressed at the multilateral level, the patriarch stressed – “not at the Lebanese internal level”.