Patriarch
Nasrallah Sfeir left Paris for south America Wednesday,
complaining that Syria controls "everything and
everyone" in Lebanon but insisting that Israel
was the only enemy of Lebanon and the Lebanese people.
The Patriarch called for Lebanese Forces leader Samir
Geagea's release from jail, re-asserting that he was
put in prison because he refused to take a cabinet minister
post in the post-war government and side with Syria.
"He
simply had two options, either to become a government
minister or go to jail. He chose prison," Sfeir
said.
The
head of Lebanon's Maronite Church bared his views
in a news conference he held in Paris after lengthy
talks with French President Jacques Chirac. The Patriarch
arrived in the French capital Tuesday from a month-long
stay in the Vatican.
Chirac
had rolled out the red carpet for Cardinal Sfeir,
awarding him a reception reserved for heads of state
at the Elysée. The French president called
upon Sfeir to intensify his efforts for a Muslim-Christian
dialogue for a national reconciliation in Lebanon.
"Syria's
hegemony covers everything in Lebanon. Even those
in power are not an exception," said Cardinal
Sfeir. His remarks broke months of de-escalation in
his campaign for a timetabled withdrawal of the Syrian
army from Lebanon.
Sfeir
called anew for the full implementation of the Taif
Accords that ended Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war on
a basis of re-apportioning power equally between Christians
and Muslims.
He
also said the Syrian army, which entered Lebanon in
1976 ostensibly to halt the civil war, should also
redeploy out of Beirut and other major cities to reassemble
in he Bekaa Valley in conformity with the Taif pact.
"All
what I am asking for is to allow Lebanon to run its
own affairs by itself, exactly like Syria," the
Patriarch said. A distinguished relations and high
levels of cooperation on equal footing would then
be feasible, he added.
Sfeir
said he maintained a "good relationship"
with Hizbullah, but asserted that Hizbullah should
lay down arms in line with the Taif agreement since
Israel has terminated its 22-year-occupation of south
Lebanon.
The
dispute over the Shebaa farms should be settled by diplomacy
rather than force of arms, the Patriarch said.
