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| 20/07/2008 Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir has criticized parties that are "stronger than the state." Sfeir, on a visit to Australia, told the Future daily that Hezbollah's "force contradicts with authority of the state and its duty to spread its sovereignty." Sfeir said "all factions claim to work for the nation's interest, but they look at Lebanon's interest through their own interests."
"Some factions head to Syria and Iran and get weapons and funds, others head to other states," he added. "All factions should owe allegiance to Lebanon," Sfeir stressed.
He said the international tribunal "should proceed with its path and it shouldn't be hampered in its quest to expose those who had committed the crimes and punish them."
President Michel Suleiman, according to Sfeir, is a good person who wants the best for his homeland noting that he had not stopped contacts with MP Michel Aoun and former Minister Sleiman Franjieh.
In response to a question on whether the recent prisoner swap between Hezbollah and Israel reflected that the party was in fact stronger than the state, Sfeir confirmed that the state was divided. “Unfortunately, there are many parties, and perhaps some parties’ show of force overpowers the state,” he stated, emphasizing that Hezbollah’s forces were incompatible with the extension of state authority and over all Lebanese territory. “But reality is reality,” he noted. He also stressed that it was the duty of Lebanese officials to reclaim prisoners "but so far there has been no result.” |
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