Pope Francis to Visit Crisis-Hit Lebanon in June

A Lebanese priest holds Lebanon’s flag while kneeling next to Pope Francis making a statement about the situation in Lebanon in the Vatican on Sept. 2, 2020. (AFP)
A Lebanese priest holds Lebanon’s flag while kneeling next to Pope Francis making a statement about the situation in Lebanon in the Vatican on Sept. 2, 2020. (AFP)
TT

Pope Francis to Visit Crisis-Hit Lebanon in June

A Lebanese priest holds Lebanon’s flag while kneeling next to Pope Francis making a statement about the situation in Lebanon in the Vatican on Sept. 2, 2020. (AFP)
A Lebanese priest holds Lebanon’s flag while kneeling next to Pope Francis making a statement about the situation in Lebanon in the Vatican on Sept. 2, 2020. (AFP)

Pope Francis is set to visit Lebanon in June, the country's presidency said on Tuesday, in a long-awaited trip that comes amid spiraling financial and political crises.

Lebanon, home to one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East, has been gripped by an unprecedented economic downturn since 2019, with more than 80 percent of the population now living in poverty.

The pontiff, who has received Lebanon's president and prime minister in the Vatican in recent months, had previously promised to visit the country and repeatedly expressed concern over its worsening crises.

"Apostolic Envoy Joseph Spiteri informed President Michel Aoun that Pope Francis will visit Lebanon next June," a presidency statement said.

"The Lebanese people have been waiting for this visit for some time to express gratitude to his holiness for his support," the statement said, adding the exact date and agenda for the visit would be set later.

Lebanese took to social media to celebrate the announcement.

"A welcome to the pope of peace in the holy land," said one user.

Lebanon, a multi-confessional country of some six million people, is home to a Muslim majority but Christians account for around a third of the population.

Pope Francis' planned visit, coming after Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15, would be the third by an incumbent pope to the country since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war.

The last trip in 2012 saw Pope Benedict XVI visit to appeal for peace, months after the start of the war in neighboring Syria.

Pope John Paul II visited in 1997, drawing one of the largest crowds Lebanon had ever seen.

"Lebanon is more than a country -- it is a message," he said at the time.

'New hope'

One social media user drew a parallel between the 1997 visit and the one expected in two months.

"Just as Pope John Paul II was a hope for Lebanon, Pope Francis too will definitely be a new hope," he wrote on Twitter.

"During elections, out with the old and in with the new," he said, referring to traditional party leaders who have been at the helm of Lebanese politics since the end of the civil war.

Pope Francis met last month with Lebanon's president, who is a Christian as dictated by the country's constitution which also divides seats in government and parliament along sectarian quotas.

In November, he received Lebanon's Muslim Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the Vatican.

"May God take Lebanon by the hand and tell it: 'Get up!'" the Vatican quoted Francis as saying during the meeting.

During a visit to Cyprus in December, Pope Francis met with the head of Lebanon's Maronite Church and expressed concern over the country's crises.

He also received the heads of Lebanon's top churches in July.

In August, he called on the international community to offer support to Lebanon, one year after an explosion in Beirut port killed more than 200 people and destroyed swathes of the capital.

Since 2019, the Lebanese currency, the pound, has lost more than 90 percent of its value against the US dollar on the black market.

The bankrupt Lebanese state has struggled to afford basic imports of fuel, food and medicine.

With no exit in sight from the country's crisis, Lebanon's population has fled the country en masse in a detrimental brain drain.



Cohen Meeting Escalates Protests in Western Libya Against Unity Government

Pro-Dbeibah government forces intervening to disperse protesters in central Tripoli (AFP)
Pro-Dbeibah government forces intervening to disperse protesters in central Tripoli (AFP)
TT

Cohen Meeting Escalates Protests in Western Libya Against Unity Government

Pro-Dbeibah government forces intervening to disperse protesters in central Tripoli (AFP)
Pro-Dbeibah government forces intervening to disperse protesters in central Tripoli (AFP)

Protests have intensified in western Libya against the interim Government of National Unity, led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, following the revelation of a meeting between former Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush and then-Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome last year.

In response to the demonstrations, Dbeibah accused foreign nations of being “involved in conspiracies to divide the country” and alleged that domestic factions were “fueling the protests” that erupted in multiple cities across western Libya against his government.

While Dbeibah refrained from naming these local factions during a speech delivered on Friday at the conclusion of the Entrepreneurs Forum and General Gathering of Youth Hostel Members in Misrata, he accused them of “manipulating young people to create discord and drag Libya backward.” He stressed that these groups “only seek war, destruction, and corruption.”

Speaking of “real conspiracies to divide Libya,” Dbeibah pledged that the country would remain unified. He addressed the youth, saying: “You are the future. We need you to step forward and defend your nation. We will not accept a return to the logic of force after the February 17 Revolution, and we will not allow it.”

In eastern Libya, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh, refrained from commenting on Dbeibah’s statements.

Saleh, however, emphasized that the solution to Libya’s political gridlock lies in holding “free and fair elections, with all sides committed to respecting the results.”

He pointed out that the House of Representatives had enacted electoral laws to facilitate this process and called for the formation of a unified government to steer Libya toward stability.

In remarks broadcast by his media office on Friday, Saleh asserted that he had “taken no actions aimed at excluding or marginalizing any party.” He pointed to the importance of national reconciliation for achieving peace and security and denied aligning with any external or international forces.

Saleh further urged support for the National Reconciliation Law as a vital step toward resolving disputes, stressing “the significance of the peaceful transfer of power.”

On Friday evening, protests erupted in Misrata, Dbeibah’s hometown, coinciding with his visit. Demonstrators expressed their rejection of what they perceived as normalization efforts with Israel and demanded Dbeibah’s resignation. In a statement, some Misrata residents condemned the meetings between his government and Israeli officials as a “grave betrayal.”