BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Christian authorities slammed politicians on Sunday for failing to remedy an economic meltdown that has left many poor, piling pressure on the country’s leaders as it spirals deeper into crisis.
In a sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, the top Christian cleric, accused politicians of thinking only of their own vested interests and urged the president to take action.
“It appears politicians want to hide their responsibility in emptying the treasury and not enact any reforms,” he said.
Hopes of salvation through an IMF deal have retreated, with the government unwilling or unable to enact reforms, hamstrung by the conflicting agendas of sectarian leaders who don’t want to yield power or privileges.
The crisis, which has decimated the local currency and raised fears of mass hunger, is seen as the biggest threat to Lebanon’s stability since its 1975-1990 civil war.
“Political officials...do not have the courage nor the freedom to meet and find ways out of the suffering,” Rai said. He warned this was depriving the country of help it needs from foreign donors.
Economic woes, rooted in state waste and corruption, came to the fore last year after capital inflows slowed and protests erupted against leaders in power since the war.
Lebanon’s sectarian political system parcels out state posts based on religious sect, with the presidency reserved for a Maronite Christian.
The largest Christian bloc, President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, is close to the Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement. Both backed the current cabinet, which took office in January.
In another sermon in a central Beirut church, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi also lambasted the political elite on Sunday.
“Oh respected leaders, I address whatever conscience remains in you,” he said. “Do you sleep comfortably at night while those under your care starve, and die of thirst and by suicide?“
Earlier this week, dozens of people mourned a man who killed himself in a busy Beirut district, blaming the country’s leaders for the hardship which they said caused his death.
Lebanon’s top Christian clerics blast politicians as hunger, hardship bite
https://arab.news/m89pc
Lebanon’s top Christian clerics blast politicians as hunger, hardship bite
- Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai accused politicians of thinking only of their own vested interests
US resumes food aid to Somalia
- The United States on Thursday announced the resumption of food distribution in Somalia, weeks after the destruction of a US-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse at Mogadishu’s port
NAIROBI: The United States on Thursday announced the resumption of food distribution in Somalia, weeks after the destruction of a US-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse at Mogadishu’s port.
In early January, Washington suspended aid to Somalia over reports of theft and government interference, saying Somali officials had “illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid meant for vulnerable Somalis.”
US officials then warned any future aid would depend on the Somali government taking accountability, a stance Mogadishu countered by saying the warehouse demolition was part of the port’s “expansion and repurposing works.”
On Wednesday, however, the Somali government said “all WFP commodities affected by port expansion have been returned.”
In a statement Somalia said it “takes full responsibility” and has “provided the World Food Program with a larger and more suitable warehouse within the Mogadishu port area.”
The US State Department said in a post on X that: “We will resume WFP food distribution while continuing to review our broader assistance posture in Somalia.”
“The Trump Administration maintains a firm zero tolerance policy for waste, theft, or diversion of US resources,” it said.
US president Donald Trump has slashed aid over the past year globally.
Somalis in the United States have also become a particular target for the administration in recent weeks, targeted in immigration raids.
They have also been accused of large-scale public benefit fraud in Minnesota, which has the largest Somali community in the country with around 80,000 members.
