Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Aude called Sunday for supporting the country’s new president and for “real national accord,” stressing that “loyalty must be for the State, the army and the constitution.”
“The ruler’s duty is to seek the interest of the country and the citizens, not his own interests,” said Aude during a mass marking the eleventh anniversary of the assassination of MP Gebran Tueni, the former editor and publisher of An Nahar newspaper.
“We are facing the dilemma of forming a cabinet and Lebanon urgently needs a government that addresses people’s affairs,” the archbishop added.
“We have started to hear about sovereign ministerial portfolios, services-related portfolios and portfolios that are permanently allocated to certain parties,” Aude lamented.
He also noted that Tueni “was dreaming of a free, democratic country governed by laws,” whereas “we are witnessing an ethical deterioration nowadays.”
Tueni was assassinated in a car bomb blast in Mkalles on December 12, 2005.
He was among several anti-Damascus officials and figures who were assassinated or escaped murder in the aftermath of the Feb. 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
