Maronite Patriarch Boutros al-Rai welcomed the renewal of Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aounrsquo;s mandate for another year, a move that he said spared the Armyrsquo;s unity and integrity.
ldquo;We thank God that he spared Lebanon a security risk by having the Parliament renew the mandates of the commanders of the Army and security forces,rdquo; al-Rai said in his Sunday sermon in Bkerke.
ldquo;The supreme national interest was to avoid a deadly vacuum in the leadership of the Army and to stabilize the unity of the Army to avoid any destabilization in its ranks due to change,rdquo; he added.
The patriarch also stressed the importance of backing that move with the election of a president of the Republic.
ldquo;Let the nationrsquo;s representatives realize that the overwhelming political chaos, the violation of the constitution, and divisions cannot be removed except with the presence of a president of state,rdquo; al-Rai said, stressing, ldquo;There is no state without a president with clean hands.rdquo;
He added, ldquo;We also wish and pray that this goodwill will be an enlightening move, so that the parliament will convene quickly and the president will be elected.rdquo; — This Is Lebanon
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