A celebration was held on Saturday in the Shouf region to mark Christian-Druze reconciliation in the village of Brih following a break in ties between the two sides following the 1975-90 Civil War. President Michel Suleiman, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat attended the celebration along with a number of lawmakers from various parliamentary blocs. Suleiman said during his speech: “Brih was the scene of wars that were greater than them.”

Today's celebration demonstrates the importance of the unified state and army, he added. “A state, whose army alone controls arms in Lebanon, is capable of defending the nation,” stressed Suleiman. This state alone will be able to lure back the displaced to their homeland, said the president. “I renew my commitment to the Baabda Declaration that will steer Lebanon clear of regional disputes and help alleviate its tragedies,” he noted. [Link]