Lebanonese Maronite leader Nasrallah Sfeir said Sunday that his state had not yet fully recovered from its 15-year civil war.
Speaking in a Sunday sermon in Diman, Sfeir said that “after the Taef Accord, cannons may have stopped, and armed checkpoints removed, but this does not mean that regional peace has returned to the country,” the Daily Sar quoted him as saying.
The Taef Accord, a national reconciliation agreement that ended a 15-year civil war, was signed in the Saudi city in 1989, sponsored by Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Algeria.
The prelate, who was speaking in French and whose speech was broadcast live to French-speaking countries throughout the world, said: “Lebanon is still seeking to regain its national pride like any other country.”
The patriarch’s sermon and the entire Mass were broadcast to Francophone viewing audiences by France’s Canal II as part of the TV station’s annual program, The Most Important Spiritual Places in the World, said the paper.
Lebanon in general, and the Qadisha Valley in particular, were chosen as the main themes of the program, in anticipation of the Francophone Summit that will be hosted in Beirut in October.
The patriarch also complained of “the severe economic crisis, which is causing a brain drain in the country.”
Lebanon still suffers from the consequences of the civil war, as well as decades of Israeli occupation.
The country's efforts to regain economic stability have been hampered by internal divisions, including the Beirut-based government's uneasy relationship with the Hizbollah Islamic resistance group, which has dominated the south since Israel withdrew last year – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
