Akkar opens arms to Syrian people: Rai

dailystar.com.lb ^ | August 14, 2012 | Antoine Amrieh

[Tailgunner Joe]

AKKAR, Lebanon: Commencing a four-day visit to the north Lebanon region of Akkar Monday, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai praised the impoverished area for the hospitality it has shown Syrian refugees.

“Akkar is an area dear to my heart, and it is a symbol of coexistence and loyalty to the country and its institutions. Despite being the area that is most poor and deprived, it is the most welcoming, especially to Syrian refugees,” the patriarch told an audience in the village of Abdeh.

Recognizing that the region is being harmed by Syrian shelling, Rai said the area “must be protected” and called on God “protect the area from the explosions being prepared by the hands of evil.”

The patriarch also took the opportunity to reaffirm his commitment to national unity.

“We come to Akkar to renew our complete loyalty to Lebanon and commit together to the national pact of Muslim-Christian coexistence,” he said.

The patriarch also asked officials “to bear their responsibility, take their seats at the National Dialogue table and discuss issues that are essential to Lebanon’s development.”

Rai called on the government not to neglect its duties to Akkar.

For his part, Akkar MP Khaled Daher welcomed Rai’s visit, saying “there are those who want strife between Christians and Muslims, [but] their conspiracy has failed. We confirm our coexistence, and the necessary Christian presence in the Middle East.”

Daher also praised the role of the Army in protecting Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel described Rai’s pastoral visit to Akkar as historic and aimed at bringing the area’s residents together regardless of their religious or political affiliations.

The minister added that he was reassured about the security situation in Akkar after a series of measures were taken to accompany Rai’s visit.

The Army has deployed units throughout the areas Rai is scheduled to visit over the coming days, and in a press release issued Monday, the Army Command called upon the region’s citizens “to abide by the directions and instructions of the military forces to facilitate the schedule of the visit and to ensure security and public safety.”

The coordination committee of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Akkar also welcomed Rai’s pastoral visit to the area.

“The visit’s timing and purpose is representative of the patriarch’s message of partnership and love, which he has called for since assuming office, especially since there are those who are working on disfiguring the image of Akkar in north Lebanon and casting it in a negative light,” the SSNP said in a statement issued Monday.

The statement stressed that Akkar refuses to be a stronghold for extremism since its residents have no ties to any form of fundamentalism.

The statement added that the residents “also reject turning their area into a headquarters for the conspiracy that targets Syria, its role and its national positions, because they embody partnership, love and national unity.”

The SSNP called on the residents of Akkar, which is a predominantly Sunni area, and Lebanon as a whole to benefit from the positive implications of Rai’s visit.

“Rai’s positions and stances met complete support during his visit, whether regarding national issues or the Arab Spring,” the statement said.

The statement also recommended that the Lebanese government build on this “very timely and important visit,” saying it should pay attention to Akkar as a region that has suffered from poverty and depravation for a long time and immediately make decisions and apply policies that will lead to the area’s development.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Rai says Akkar needs protection in light of Syrian shelling - August 13, 2012 - BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Monday the northern region of Akkar required protection in light of the attack along the border with Syria and voiced relief that the area had been spared of alleged bomb plots.

“Akkar is the poorest and most deprived region at the economic level. [Akkar] has shown it is hospitable, particularly to our brothers the Syrian refugees. [Akkar] is a region that has been harmed by Syrian shelling and needs to be protected,” he said in Abdeh.

Lebanon's northern and eastern borders with Syria have witnessed frequent exchanges of fire in recent weeks, some of them deadly, as well as shelling from Syria into Lebanon.

The influential Christian leader also voiced relief that the region was spared of bomb attacks at the hands of what he described as “evil and dead consciences.”

“God protected this region from explosions being prepared by the evil hands and dead consciences,” he said.

Rai’s Aug. 13 to Aug. 16 visit to north Lebanon comes following the arrest last week of former Information Minister Michel Samaha on charges of plotting bomb attacks in the country.

Security sources said investigators confronted Samaha, a longtime ally and friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad, with incriminating evidence. Samaha reportedly confessed straight away.