March 14: New Patriarch Would be a Guide in Efforts to Establish the State
The March 14 general-secretariat vowed on Wednesday to continue to defend Lebanon through peaceful and democratic means and hoped newly-elected Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi would be a guide for Lebanese leaders.
The general-secretariat “holds onto Bkirki’s role in guaranteeing the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon,” it said in a statement following its weekly meeting.
The statement considered the new patriarch a “historical guarantee for the project and the structure of the state” and a “guide to leaders in their efforts to establish the state under the Taef accord.”
The conferees said the Hizbullah-led March 8 forces should take the message sent by March 14 supporters at Sunday’s rally seriously in terms of rejection of arms and demands for justice in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.
“On this occasion, the general-secretariat vows … to continue its struggle with all peaceful and democratic means available to defend Lebanon,” the statement said.
It unveiled that the March 14 forces would launch a political-structural workshop in the next few days aimed at “confronting future challenges and organizing the next step” they would take.
It also attacked Hizbullah for allegedly “tarnishing” the image of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon by claiming that Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare had asked from Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud for the fingerprints of 4 million Lebanese.
Documents published by the English-language newspaper The Daily Star on Tuesday confirm that Bellemare had requested fingerprint records to only 10 individuals and 24 birth certificates, the statement added.
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