Sfeir Pessimistic Over Deep Divisions Among Lebanese

by **Admin** Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:50 pm

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir expressed pessimism over growing divisions among the Lebanese, a day after he likened Lebanon to the Palestinian territories.

Sfeir, in a speech on the occasion of Good Friday, urged the Lebanese to "overcome disagreements and return to their conscience."

"Grouping and division that have hit Lebanon" do not lead to optimism, he said, adding that "persistent efforts (by some parties) to overtake the country's main arteries" are not comforting.

Although he warned against growing divisions among the Lebanese, he said "we can't lose hope. It's our country."

Sfeir also lamented the deteriorating economic situation and said foreign businessmen were withdrawing their investments from the country.

On Thursday, the patriarch expressed concern over the deteriorating political and security situation in Lebanon, likening it to the worsening conditions in the Palestinian territories.

"Lebanon has become almost like Palestine," Sfeir said after holding talks with Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki.

"We don't envy each other," Sfeir said in Bkirki but stressed that the Lebanese have faith in God and each other.
"The Palestinian people have been suffering for more than half a century," he said.

Sfeir also hoped "for an end to the tragic" situation in the Palestinian territories, which he said "has spread to the entire Middle East."

More than 130 Palestinians have been killed since February 27 when Israel launched a military campaign on the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire on southern Israel. Five Israelis, including four soldiers, were killed during the same period.

Israel has also been battling Hamas since the group seized control of Gaza last June. In addition to its military activity, the Jewish state has imposed a tough economic blockade on the strip.