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Patriarch Demands
Geagea's Release, Crosses
Lances with Aoun
April 19, 2004
Patriarch Sfeir has declared
that the release of Lebanese
Forces commander Samir
Geagea from jail "is
an imperative precondition"
for a national reconciliation
that lowers the curtain
on the lingering legacy
of Lebanon's civil war.
The head of the Maronite
Church made the announcement
to hundreds of LF activists
who staged a march to
Bkirki Sunday, marking
the 10th anniversary of
Geagea's arrest and incarceration
in solitary confinement
at the Defense Ministry
compound in Yarze, An
Nahar reported Monday.
"The release
of every political prisoner
in Lebanon is an imperative
precondition for a national
reconciliation that we
have so long been demanding,"
Sfeir said from a balcony
of the patriarchate overlooking
the demonstrators, who
waved Geagea portraits
amidst a forest of LF
flags.
Sfeir seized upon the
occasion to cross lances
with Gen. Aoun, who wondered
in a recent Beirut TV
interview whether the
patriarch had given up
on the demand for Syria's
exit from Lebanon.
"You have been
told that the patriarch
may have changed his views
and stance. This is untrue,"
Sfeir told the crowd.
"Be sure that we
are not from those who
change their positions
to adapt to fluctuating
situations. Our stand
is the same and you all
know it."
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