Lebanon: Independent christians meet in harissa

The Independent Christian Gathering held Friday its periodic meeting in Harissa, with talks mainly broaching an array of national political affairs as well as the current juncture in the Mideast region, namely in Syria. A closing statement issued in the wake of the meeting indicated that the Gathering's nomination was only provisional and that its method on the national and political level was inspired by the moral, spiritual, and human rights' values as well as by the Maornite Patriarch's Love and Communion motto. The Gathering is comprised of former ministers Abdullah Farhat, Elias Skaff, Fares Boueiz, Elie Ferzli, Elias Saba, Joseph Hashem, Sleiman Traboulsi, Naji Boustani, Elias Hanna, and Karim Pakradouni, former Deputies Gebran Taouq, Pierre Daccache, Antoine Haddad, and Jack Jokhadrian, ambassadors Fouad Turk, Joey Tabet, and Rashid Daher, as well as Fadi Rouhana Saqr, Butros Doueihi, Charbel Khoury, Jean Hawwat, Edmond Butros, Shadi Massaad, Joe Eddeh, Michel Karam, and Claude Boueiz Kanaan.