Centrist Bloc Tips Balance between Right and Left
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Thursday that a centrist parliamentary bloc tips the balance between right and left.
"We don”t want to meddle in political issues," but a centrist (parliamentary) bloc always tips the balance between right and left," he said about recent demands for the creation of an independent bloc.
Asked about pro-Bkirki candidates that would run in the June 7 parliamentary elections, Sfeir said: "It is early (to discuss this). When the time comes, we”ll see" what to do.
He told reporters at Beirut airport before traveling to Egypt that Lebanon is in need of all sects in order to play an "effective role."
Asked about a potential meeting between him and Syrian officials, Sfeir said: "We don”t have differences but there are no opportunities to exchange visits these days."
Asked if he would meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Sfeir said: "The ambassador is the one who sets up appointments."
"I think there would be meetings with some officials," he said.
Sfeir headed to Egypt to represent Pope Benedict XVI at the burial of former head of the Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt, Cardinal Stephanos II Ghattas.
The head of the Maronite church welcomed inter-Arab reconciliations and Wednesday”s meeting between Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad.
"We welcome every reconciliation whether it is held in Lebanon or in the Arab world. We hope that this reconciliation would be permanent and effective," he said.
"But it seems that the Arab reconciliation is held from one side and shattered on the other. This is not welcomed," he told reporters.