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SYRIA CONFLICT: CHRISTIANS 'FLEEING HOMES'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24547263
16 October 2013 Last updated at 16:48
A senior Church leader in Syria has said almost a third of the
country's Christians have fled their homes.
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham told the BBC
that more than 450,000 Christians out of a total population of 1.75
million had been displaced or left the country.
However, he was adamant that the Christian community would survive.
Patriarch Gregorios also expressed hope that the initiative to destroy
Syria's chemical weapons might lead to peace.
Last month, the UN Security Council ended two-and-a-half years
of deadlock over Syria by adopting a resolution that demanded the
elimination of the country's arsenal by mid-2014.
The resolution also backed US and Russian efforts to convene an
international meeting in Geneva to find a political solution to the
conflict, which has left more than 100,000 people dead.
'New vision'
BBC world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan says Patriarch Gregorios
came to the UK with a doggedly optimistic message.
Even as the war on the ground rages, he said international agreement
over chemical weapons had given a unique opportunity for peace.
In particular, he said he wanted the international community to block
the flow of weapons into Syria.
"We have to have campaign together - no more weapons, no more violence,
go together to a better new vision of life," he said.
Syria's minority Christian community has faced growing violence,
but he said it was not dependent for its survival on President Bashar
al-Assad's secular government.
In fact, Patriarch Gregorios thought Christians could in fact help
bring the warring sides together.
"We have to have a new vision, and that is our work as Christians,
especially the Christian Arabs have to play this role to change
the vision."
Our correspondent says Patriarch Gregorios has often been accused of
being a supporter of the government, but he strongly denied that.
He said he wanted foreign fighters to go home, and for a new government
of national unity to include the opposition. Whether or not Mr Assad
was removed should be a secondary issue, he added.
From: A. Papazian
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24547263
16 October 2013 Last updated at 16:48
A senior Church leader in Syria has said almost a third of the
country's Christians have fled their homes.
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham told the BBC
that more than 450,000 Christians out of a total population of 1.75
million had been displaced or left the country.
However, he was adamant that the Christian community would survive.
Patriarch Gregorios also expressed hope that the initiative to destroy
Syria's chemical weapons might lead to peace.
Last month, the UN Security Council ended two-and-a-half years
of deadlock over Syria by adopting a resolution that demanded the
elimination of the country's arsenal by mid-2014.
The resolution also backed US and Russian efforts to convene an
international meeting in Geneva to find a political solution to the
conflict, which has left more than 100,000 people dead.
'New vision'
BBC world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan says Patriarch Gregorios
came to the UK with a doggedly optimistic message.
Even as the war on the ground rages, he said international agreement
over chemical weapons had given a unique opportunity for peace.
In particular, he said he wanted the international community to block
the flow of weapons into Syria.
"We have to have campaign together - no more weapons, no more violence,
go together to a better new vision of life," he said.
Syria's minority Christian community has faced growing violence,
but he said it was not dependent for its survival on President Bashar
al-Assad's secular government.
In fact, Patriarch Gregorios thought Christians could in fact help
bring the warring sides together.
"We have to have a new vision, and that is our work as Christians,
especially the Christian Arabs have to play this role to change
the vision."
Our correspondent says Patriarch Gregorios has often been accused of
being a supporter of the government, but he strongly denied that.
He said he wanted foreign fighters to go home, and for a new government
of national unity to include the opposition. Whether or not Mr Assad
was removed should be a secondary issue, he added.
From: A. Papazian