Franjieh’s Visit to Bkirki Did Not Live up To Expectations
Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra said that Marada Movement leader Sleiman Franjieh’s short visit to Bkirki on Thursday, during which he attended a meeting between Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and President Michel Sleiman but did not attend the Christmas service, “did not meet expectations” and did not bode well for the future.
In an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Friday, Zahra said that Franjieh had set conditions prior to visiting Bkirki. Zahra said that this was the wrong way to approach Bkirki, as the seat of the Maronite Patriarch could not be forced to side with one faction against another. “Bkirki cannot do this and anyone who wants it to play a political role… is wrong,” he said.
Speaking about an inter-Christian reconciliation, Zahra said that a meeting between Lebanese Forces Executive Council leader Samir Geagea and Franjieh had been requested, however, Zahra added that Franjieh demanded that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun attend the meeting. “We agreed but the other faction retracted and there is nothing new [about this] on this level,” he said.