By Najia Houssari — BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has sparked Christian anger by defending Hezbollah during his Vatican visit. In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, Aoun said that Hezbollah’s weapons had “no influence in any way” on the security situation of the Lebanese and that “resisting the (Israeli) occupation” was not terrorism. His words led Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi to reiterate his position on the importance of Lebanon’s neutrality. Lebanon’s top Christian cleric told MTV on Wednesday that the country was not a ground for conflict and that its interest lay in neutrality which, he said, maintained its sovereignty and preserved it from Israel and other hostile elements.
There was online anger, with activists sharing photos of dates and events where Hezbollah’s weapons had been “directed at Christians and not in their defense.” These included the assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the pilot Samer Hanna, and Hezbollah opponents Hashem Suleiman and Luqman Slim. The activists cited a military conflict from May 7, 2008, between Hezbollah militias and pro-government Sunnis after an 18-month-long political crisis spiraled out of control. They also mentioned the clashes that erupted in Beirut’s Tayouneh neighborhood last October between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, unidentified gunmen, and the armed forces. Activists said the president’s position at the Vatican did not represent them and reminded him that Hezbollah was “listed as a terrorist organization by the nations of the world, including the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.”
On Wednesday morning, several young people in Tripoli, mostly Sunnis, wrote anti-Iran slogans on the city’s walls rejecting “Iranian occupation.” Their actions were documented on video and posted on social media. Aoun visited the Vatican earlier this week under the slogan “Christians are well,” causing astonishment, especially in the Maronite Church, with one of its officials noting that the patriarch had been “constantly warning” in his sermons about the migration of young Christians and the collapse of sectors and institutions established by Christians.
The Vatican’s statement was limited to Pope Francis and Aoun’s meeting highlighting “the grave socio-economic problems the country is experiencing, and the situation of refugees.” It expressed hope for the global aid reaching Lebanon, the organization of upcoming legislative elections, and that “the necessary reforms may contribute to strengthening peaceful co-existence between the various religious communities” who lived in the land of the cedars. The statement also stressed the “demand for justice” in the Beirut port explosion case. Messages on the platforms of Hezbollah and its supporters tried to imply that there was a disagreement “between the Vatican and Patriarch Al-Rahi vis-a-vis Hezbollah.”
Former parliamentarian Fadi Karam, secretary of the Strong Republic Parliamentary bloc, said: “Through his visit to the Vatican and his statements, Aoun tried to acquit Hezbollah, saying that it protects Christians in Lebanon, and that is the epitome of fabrication and offense to Lebanon and completely contradicts the truth.” He told Arab News: “Hezbollah and Aoun are the ones who led Lebanon to its collapse and hell, and it is necessary to correct Aoun’s discourse as he is wrong.” He denied there was any disagreement between the Vatican and Al-Rahi, and said the Vatican did not approve of Aoun’s discourse and that “it focused in its closing statement on Lebanon’s identity.” He added: “Aoun tried to exonerate Hezbollah to allow his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, to become the next president in the next parliamentary elections on May 15. “That is the visit’s goal. However, Aoun did not succeed in acquitting Hezbollah, which cannot be done in the first place. His discourse is no longer heard in either East or the West, nor in the political and financial circles.”
