The Coordination Committee of National Lebanese Parties and Forces stated that Patriarch Rai's speech, which included a clear call for internationalization and neutrality, is an unsuccessful step in addressing the crisis in Lebanon and how to manage it, as it entails existential risks that could lead to dire consequences and push the country into a completely destructive situation.
The national news agency reported that in a statement issued after their meeting at the Baath Party headquarters in Beirut today, the committee emphasized that the call for internationalization in Lebanon—which has for decades witnessed external interventions and impositions—has always reinforced divisions and disagreements among different components of the Lebanese people, leading to civil wars at various times. The committee's statement noted that proponents of this approach have not learned from past lessons, or they are turning a deaf ear to entities that have become accustomed to building their glory on wars, killings, and destruction. The value of any proposal lies in its alignment with the mood of the majority of Lebanese; thus, it is wrong for anyone to demand internationalization in a country where the vast majority view appealing to external forces as a betrayal of the homeland and its people, considering any external decision as a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and national dignity that must be resisted by all available means. The statement posed a question to Patriarch Rai: "Does Your Beatitude's call undermine the French initiative, which the majority of political forces representing the Lebanese people did not object to and which still exists with everyone's consent?"
The statement also highlighted that every country acts according to its interests and those of its allies, and it is natural for what is referred to as the international community, led by the United States, to seek to achieve the interests of the Zionist entity at the expense of Lebanon and its people. The Coordination Committee perceived the issue of neutrality as "an abdication of national responsibility and an escape from confronting the reality represented by the ongoing Zionist aggression against Lebanon and the region," as the truth known to all is that Lebanon has always been vulnerable to repeated aggressions, whether from the Israeli enemy or U.S.-backed Takfiri terrorism, as acknowledged by U.S. officials.
It emphasized that "Lebanon has never been an aggressor; rather, it has offered martyrs and the wounded and has been subjected to destruction and daily violations of its land, waters, and airspace, culminating in its occupation by the Israeli enemy. Therefore, any talk of neutrality in the actual situation is meaningless, as it could also be interpreted by the international community as an absolution of the Zionist enemy and its crimes against Lebanon and its people."
The Coordination Committee also addressed "certain slogans launched by groups participating in the gathering in Bkerke, incited by known entities with a criminal history," viewing them as "an invocation of divisive atmospheres and a disturbance to civil peace, similar to those preceding the outbreak of the infamous civil war." It stressed that "it would have been more appropriate for His Beatitude the Patriarch to halt those groups and publicly reject their slogans, especially since they targeted His Excellency the President of the Republic and the resistance that liberated the land and protected the homeland from Takfiri terrorism and Zionist aggression. The silence of the host regarding those slogans is unacceptable, as silence is considered a sign of approval in Lebanese customs; first, because the sanctity of the house has been violated flagrant by entities far removed from patriotism, and second, because those chants are false and represent a deliberate slander aimed at distorting the facts to serve known and declared American and Israeli agendas."
While confirming their respect for "the Maronite Patriarchate, which is a fundamental reference in Lebanon," the Coordination Committee expressed sorrow for "the violation that occurred to this national edifice in the sight and hearing of Your Beatitude," urging "all concerned parties not to allow its exploitation by those with divisive and inflammatory projects, affirming the respect that must remain present for this edifice and what it represents, and preventing it from becoming a platform for media clashes and political messages, as well as for unpatriotic slogans that are unworthy of such an edifice, which has always been and remains a cornerstone of Lebanon."
