Maronite Bishops Urge Lebanese Leaders to Implement Arab Initiative and Salvage Lebanon

by **Admin** Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:04 pm

Maronite Bishops on Wednesday called on the various Lebanese leaders to cooperate in order to implement the Arab initiative and "get Lebanon out of its ordeal."

In a statement issued after their monthly meeting, the bishops regretted the absence of Lebanon at the Arab summit in Damascus which was "due to the failure to elect a President."

"This is abnormal," said the statement read by Monsignor Youssef Tawq.

It called on the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora to "look seriously into Lebanon's miserable situation -- where most economic sectors are threatening to strike – and deal responsibly with it."
The statement also urged the state to adopt the "course of justice."

It warned against the negative impact on the summer season as a result of the ongoing political crisis.
Summer is traditionally the high tourist season for Lebanon, when hundreds of thousands of visitors -- particularly Arabs from the oil-rich Gulf, and many Lebanese living abroad -- usually flood into the country to enjoy its nightlife, beaches and mountain resorts.

The Bishops also pointed to "protests" made by citizens, particularly in the Bekaa Valley and north Lebanon, who complained that "some" people were seizing their land and water. The statement demanded the people not to be oppressed and called on the government to treat everybody fairly.