Michel Aoun late Tuesday, May 10, to apparently overcome tensions after a Catholic run radio station was bombed by suspected Syrian militants, Lebanese media said. The Voice of Charity, operated by the Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries in the port city of Jounieh since 1984, was attacked late Friday, May 6, in what is seen as the latest in a series of attacks against Christians in Lebanon.
At least one person was killed, and over 20 others were injured, Catholic news sources reported. Several adjoining buildings, including the St. John’s Maronite church, were also destroyed in the blast in the town of Jounieh, some 15 kilometers (9.5 miles) north of Beirut, photo footage showed. The explosion noisily ended several weeks of silence following a spate of bombings in March and April of commercial areas in Christian areas and opposition strongholds which killed several people and injured dozens.
The attack was an apparent response to the station’s campaign regarding the plight of Lebanese detained in Syrian prisons, the Catholic News Service (CNS) said. Hours earlier the Voice of Charity aired stories from ex-prisoners of Syria who recounted their experiences of alleged torture in Syrian prisons.
SYRIA DENIES
Syrian authorities have denied the existence of the prisoners, and the Lebanese government has ignored the issue, CNS reported. "We consider this attack as a kind of political response" to the May 6 broadcast, added Maronite Father Maurice Chidiac, co-director of the Voice of Charity, according to CNS.
An hour after the attack, the station resumed broadcasting hymns from a transmitter in the sanctuary of Our Lady of Harissa Shrine located on a mountaintop overlooking the Bay of Jounieh, CNS reported from Beirut. A liturgy was apparently arranged in the station’s parking lot May 8, and the following day a Eucharistic procession was reportedly held around the grounds of the network and the surrounding damaged neighborhood.
A special prayer session will be held daily at 9:46 p.m, the time at which the blast occurred, officials said. By May 9, broadcasting had begun from tents erected in the station’s parking lot, and signals were expected to reach neighboring Syria once again.
WITHDRAWING FORCES
Last month, Syria officially withdrew its last forces from Lebanon ending a near 29 year presence, after Christian, Sunnite and Druse groups demanded the withdrawal of the Syrian military and the resignation of the government, considered close to Damascus.
But critics say Syria still tries to destabilize Lebanon with secret service agents and militants. Lebanese Christians hope a new multi-ethnic government will help to end the anti-Christian violence and avoid a resumption of the civil war, which began in 1975 and ended 15 years later.
Thousands of Christians held a massive celebration this weekend to mark the end of a 15-year exile for their leader, General Michel Aoun, who they hope will usher in a new political era.
Saad Hariri, the son of late premier Rafik Hariri, made a surprise visit to the home of former army commander Aoun late Tuesday, May 10, "in a possible sign of rapprochement," reported The Daily Star, a Lebanese newspaper, on its website. However Hariri said nothing about possible political alliances ahead of the upcoming elections, The Daily Star added. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Lebanon and Syria)
