You are stating the obvious. However, I am quite sure that the young generation of Christians in Lebanon and also my generation, those who grew up during the civil war are taking some distance with this racist sectarian mindset. Only some Chritian leaders, as well as our dear patriarch still hold to it because they think political gain for the short term. In my opinion, one can only find the strongest sectarian racist mentality in Lebanon today mostly among sunnis and that’s because of the following factors:
-They are becoming a high profile sect both on the regional and international level, thanks to Bush and his close association with Saudi Arabia;
-They have a powerful leader willing to play both the national and the regional sectarian games;
- They are not ready to share some of their old and newly gained power on the Lebanese political scene;

While on the other side you have two communities, Christians and Shias who either have lost some of their political power, like Chritians, or asking for more, like Shias, and these two communities are willing to discuss. Now I don’t understand why on earth Gemayel is playing the sunni sectarian game, because in the end it is not in the interests of Christians, but it is probably in his own personal interests. It was the saqme with our 15 years civil war, it was not in the interests of Christians, but the leaders fought it anyway. It is time we make them accountable for these tragic decisions…And I think the Metn vote against Gemayel was also about accountability.

I also want to assure you that for me, a Lebanese Christian Maronite, I consider my fellow Armenians as my brothers and sisters and an integral part of Lebanese society. We both went throught the fear of ethnic massacres that took place toward the end of the 19th and the beginning of the twentieth century amid the political instability in the Ottoman empire, even though Armenians were actually massacred and exiled, bearing a heavier price for this tragedy, it is our tragedy all. Gemayel seems to have forgotten this fact. To substract himself from more than a century old solidarity with our Armenian brothers and sisters is to put himself against his own community. So there must be personal gain for him in this, but definitely not for his entire community…

On a larger scale, most Lebanese leaders from all sects have, time and again, proved to be tyrants, out of phase with the aspirations of their people and their community. The one who should apologize to the Armenian community, is Hariri himself, dark lord of the new sectarian strife…and not only his puppets