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'Dark forces' at work in Lebanon
22/11/2006 14:57 - (SA)
Vatican City - Pope Benedict on Wednesday said the assassination of Lebanese cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel was a "brutal attack" and urged the country's people to beware "the dark forces who are trying to destroy the country".
Speaking to some 20 000 pilgrims and tourists gathered in a
rainy St Peter's Square for his weekly general audience, he
also appealed to all leaders in the Middle East to seek a
"global and negotiated solution" to long-standing problems.
Gemayel, a Christian, was shot dead as he drove through a
Christian suburb of Beirut on Tuesday.
His allies blamed Damascus for the killing, which revived fears that factional
violence could spiral again.
"In firmly condemning such a brutal attack, I assure my
prayers and my spiritual closeness to the family in mourning and
to the beloved Lebanese people," he said, speaking in Italian.
"Faced with the dark forces who are trying to destroy the
country, I invite all Lebanese not to let themselves be
vanquished by hate but instead to try to re-forge national
unity, justice and reconciliation and to work together to build
a future of peace," he said.
Gemayal was the sixth anti-Syrian politician to be killed in
nearly two years.
Call for Middle East peace
Without naming countries, the Pope issued a fresh appeal for
peace in the whole Middle East.
"I invite the leaders of those countries which have the fate
of that region at heart to contribute to a global and negotiated
solution to the many situations of injustice that have marked it
for far too many years," he said.
The killing heightened tensions between the anti-Syrian
government and the pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah, the
powerful Shi'ite Muslim group determined to topple
what it sees as a pro-US administration.
The Gemayel assassination turned Lebanon's Independence Day
on Wednesday into a sombre occasion. All festivities, including
a military parade, were cancelled.
- Reuters
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