Lebanese cleric criticises Syria

The highest Christian leader in Lebanon, the patriarch of the Maronite Church, has criticised the current political role held by Syria in his country.

The patriarch, Nasrallah Sfeir, said Syria's hegemony over Lebanon had left the country without the freedom to make its own decisions, causing it to fade from the international arena.

Cardinal Sfeir said he wanted Lebanon to become a sovereign independent country, free to make its own decisions; and to this end, he called for the establishment of diplomatic relations and the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Syria has thirty-five thousand troops in Lebanon, and is the dominant decision-maker.

The two countries have never established diplomatic ties; their relationship being officially portrayed as being too friendly to warrant such representation. The Druze leader Walid Jumblatt last week added his voice to growing Christian calls for a Syrian troop pullout, causing him to be declared persona non-grata in Syria.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service