The Third Appeal of the Maronite Bishops 02 October 2002

The Maronite Patriarch and Bishops had a meeting at Bkerke on Wednesday, 02 October 2002.
 They issued the following Statement:

Maronite Church Blasts Regime for Prosecuting Aoun, Gemayel

Lebanon's Maronite Church on Wednesday blasted the regime's attempts to smother its political opponents, warning that the day will come when the tables are turned and the current opposition takes the reins of power.
The barrage came in a statement issued after the monthly conclave of the church's archbishops under the chairmanship of Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir at his seat in suburban Bkirki north of Beirut.

The statement strongly rejected the judicial prosecution of Gen. Michel Aoun and ex-President Amin Gemayel, "which suggests that one half of the Lebanese are targeted and one side is being helped to eliminate the other."

The bishops denounced summonses to former senior officials and threats against them, warning that these endeavors would not help convene the Paris-2 conference or the Francophonie summit conference in Beirut.

That obviously alluded to Gemayel's revelation that he had received threats to "axe me out politically and physically".

"Are the current rulers aware that the measures they are taking against their opponents would one day be taken against them by those opponents and opposition leaders?" the statement wondered.

"Are those rulers aware that if they smother the opposition and their opponents they will be destroying the democratic system and destroying themselves as well?" the sharply worded statement marveled.

The statement also rejected reports that a new electoral law is being prepared on a basis of transforming Lebanon into one constituency.

Beirut, Updated 03 Oct 02, 00:40