khazen.org completely rejects the actions of some outlaws at Lassa Lebanese village. These criminals and thugs used violence against civilians and Religious prelates to scare them away of the Maronite Church Properties. These thugs attacked Deacon Tony Halim who later received treatment at Saint George Ajaltoun hospital in Ajaltoun. Our prayers are with all of the victims.
khazen.org is outraged by the actions of these thugs who has attacked church Officials and invaded their lands. We would like Justice to be pursued by Lebanese Security officials as soon as possible.
khazen.org was pleased today that under the leadership of our Patriarch our loving Father Mar Bechara al Rai he once again was the uniter following his motto" Love and Partnership was able calm the situation. Once again our Maronite Patriarch opened his arms to all communities and reached an agreement with all parties involve in these events. Eventhough the violence was only against our Maronite Church, Prelates and farmers.
Khazen.org offers its complete support to our Maronite Patriarch, our father, the Hope of Lebanon. His opinions are sacred. He is the voice of the Lebanese Because of his strong love and forgiving nature Church bells will always rand and welcome all groups to unite!
BEIRUT: An agreement on land disputes between the Maronite Patriarchate and residents of a predominantly Shiite village in north Lebanon was reached during a meeting held under Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, according to a statement by the patriarchate’s media office Thursday.
The statement said that following an incident in the village of Lassa, Jbeil, last week, the concerned parties met in Bkirki Wednesday night. Attending the meeting were Rai, Bishop Antoine Nabil Andari, who was heading a delegation from Jounieh’s Maronite Archdiocese, Jbeil lawmakers Walid Khoury, Abbas Hashem and Simon Abi Ramia along with Baalbek-Hermel MP Emile Rahmeh and all members of the Free Patriotic Movement bloc.
Other top security officials and a Hezbollah delegation headed by Ghaleb Abu Zeinab were on hand as well.
“The participants discussed the issue of disputed real estate in the area. They unanimously stressed that the political tinge be removed from it [the dispute] and [discussions] be restricted to the negotiation and a legal course, without any tension,” the statement said.
Last week, locals from Lassa accosted a delegation from the Maronite Patriarchate, accompanied by topographical professionals, who were surveying lands belonging to Jounieh’s Maronite archdiocese, in line with a judicial order. The delegation’s visit came following news that illegal structures were being built on archdiocese property, and the residents prevented the delegation from carrying out its work.
Members of a news crew from MTV, who were reporting from Lassa, were assaulted Tuesday by locals who smashed a camera belonging to the crew, forcing them to end their work.
“The dispute is not between parties or political movements, but revolves around real estate affairs. What the spiritual and parliamentary authorities, along with political parties, did in their meeting was make a positive and responsible contribution toward creating a climate to accompany this purely legal proceeding,” the statement said.
It added that the participants have drawn up “a mechanism to carry out the decisions taken within a timetable to end this issue, which has been going on for years, in a [definitive] manner by a committee that has been assigned for this job [resolving the dispute].”
For over two week the Maronite Church has been involved in strenuous efforts to reclaim large areas of land which has been taken over by part of the Shiite population of Lassa, a village in the district of Jbeil Mount Lebanon. The affair erupted when official land surveyors tried survey land on which stands a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. Since 2011 the building has been used, against the advice of the Church as a place of worship for women. In spite of all the past efforts to regulate this sensitive and highly symbolic issue the chapel key was never returned to the Church. For several days the population has prevented the team, with the threat of arms, from carrying out the survey.
The use of threats by the Shiite population of Lassa has awakened feelings of confessional hostility in Maronite environments. Nurtured by certain personalities this anger has begun to manifest itself. To avoid exacerbating these feelings the patriarchate of Bkerke called a meeting involving all parties concerned, including representatives of Hezbollah and the Amal Shiite movement. The patriarch chaired the meeting, which was also attended by representatives of the police and army. Closing the meeting, and confirming his original direction, the Patriarchate has appointed a commission to resolve the legal problem, expressing the desire to confine the issue to a strictly legal framework and avoid any political and confessional drift.
Legal documents show that the land belongs to the Maronite Church in the village where a Shiite majority and a Maronite minority coexist in about 3.6 million square meters, divided into 95 plots. The plots were registered in 1939. Over 80 cases of trespassing on land belonging to the Maronite Church have been registered, in the form of illegal construction or unauthorised agricultural use. Most buildings were built at the beginning of this century, thanks to the mayor’s illegal authorization of the village and with the passive complicity of the local police, responsible for repressing violations of construction law.
Moreover, not content with occupying the Church land illegally, the Shiite population prevents the development of Christian farmers on their own uncontested agricultural land. To the point that one of them was beaten and kicked off the land that he had rented.
Lebanese security forces will oversee the implementation of the agreement’s articles to ensure that no one will be attacked, the statement said. The participants also decided to remove the issue from the media spotlight.
But Fares Soueid, the general coordinator of the March 14 coalition, slammed what he called the “compromises” taking place in Lassa and the state submitting to the “logic of force.”
“The state appeared to be letting down its duty to implement law and submit to the logic of force. This was clearly expressed by Interior Minister [Marwan Charbel], who said that some Lebanese avoid passing through certain areas in Lebanon,” he said.
Soueid said the people of upper Jbeil and Jibbet al-Mnaitra stress their attachment to their land, adhering to the state and the law, and urged the Maronite Church not “to abandon its right to land in upper Jbeil under the threat of force.”
Soueid said the participation of Abu Zeinab in the Bkirki meeting “highlights the political nature of this issue, contrary to remarks made by the Free Patriotic Movement MPs.”
“It also confirms Hezbollah provides anyone who breaches the law and violates the property of others with moral, political and security protection.”
Soueid urged the quick completion of the land survey in the area, removing unauthorized structures on church land and holding their builders accountable, along with those providing protection for the phenomenon.
Soueid also urged the authorities to arrest those who assaulted the MTV crew and survey team.
Separately, the National Bloc called for “strictly” executing “the judiciary’s order to survey the Maronite Patriarchate’s property and for holding violators accountable.”
The National Bloc voiced surprise that the Jbeil incident occurred when Rai was touring the district from which Sleiman and Charbel hailed.
“This indicates that Hezbollah respects neither Lebanese law nor the Maronite Patriarchate, and that the state is unable to carry out its duties,” said the committee said in a statement after its meeting.
The Catholic Media Center condemned the attack on journalists in Lassa, saying it jeopardized coexistence.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on July 22, 2011, on page 2.
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(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
BEIRUT: The number of suspects involved in an attack on a deacon in the Jbeil village of Lassa earlier this month has gone up to three, security sources said Saturday.
Rwad Mikdad, 30, and Faris Mikdad, 28, were handed over to a contingent belonging to the Military Police in Qartaba, Jbeil, north of Beirut, the source said.
The two confessed to having taking part in the assault on Deacon Tony Faris al-Hakim and his companion Anis Ghazi Daw on Aug. 20.
On Thursday, the Internal Security Forces detained Mohammad Eitawi who confessed to having taken part in the assault on the assistant priest and his companion, the source s.
Hakim and his companion were attacked as they escorted security forces, which entered the village to implement a judicial order to demolish illegal construction on land owned by the Maronite patriarchate.
Conflicting reports had emerged Friday over the arrest of those involved in the incident in Lassa, whose residents are caught in a land ownership dispute with the Maronite patriarchate.
March 14 officials have accused Hezbollah of providing the assailants with political cover and encouraging illegal construction in the area in a bid to establish a security zone in the pre-dominantly Christian district of Jbeil.
The Maronite patriarchate had reportedly reached an agreement with Shiite residents of Lassa during a meeting last month headed by Patriarch Beshara Rai with the participation of a Hezbollah delegation.
Higher Shiite Council deputy head Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan is expected to visit Lassa after Eid al-Fitr in a bid to calm sectarian tensions and promote national coexistence, the CNA reported.
A statement released by residents of Jbeil said the state should fulfill its responsibility by implementing the law and preserving civil peace.
Jbeil, a district with a majority of Christian residents and a minority of Shiite residents in mainly its southern mountainous region, was one of the few regions where sectarian clashes did not take place during the Civil War.
