Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros Rai expressed gratitude for the fifty states and international organizations for the support they showed for Lebanon’s stability and economy during Cedre conference in Paris and for French President Emmanuel Macron for hosting the conference.
During Sunday Mass in Bkerke, Rai called on the Lebanese officials to have mercy and protect Lebanon, noting that “in case the Lebanese state failed to fulfill promises of political, structural, administrative, and financial reforms and to eliminate corruption, the public debt will increase and the deficit will double.”
Rai also commented on the article 49 of the Budget 2018, saying that it is like an introduction to resettlement, since it grants any Arab or foreigner who buys an apartment in Lebanon a temporary residence permit for him, his wife and minor children.
“Despite the restrictions imposed on this article, it is considered as an introduction to granting them the Lebanese citizenship and resettlement, like what happened with the Nationality Law that violated the constitution and deeply affected the demographic balance; and the worst of it is that the Interior Ministry failed to implement the decision of the Shura Council, abolishing said law,” he added.
The Patriarch urged the cabinet to resolve the issue of the housing loans so that the Lebanese youth can buy houses, raising the alarm over the fact that more than one third of the Lebanese people live under poverty line.