Lebanon’s Information Minister George Kordahi speaks to journalists after a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Saudi Arabia on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, ordered the Lebanese ambassador to the kingdom to leave the country within 48 hours and stopped all imports from Lebanon, a response to comments by Kordahi who described the war in Yemen as a Saudi “aggression.” (Bilal Hussein/AP)
BEIRUT — The diplomatic row between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia is aggravating divisions in Lebanon, already reeling from an economic meltdown and social tension.
Some are pushing for the resignation of the Cabinet minister whose comments sparked the crisis, in order to protect economic and political ties with the Gulf. Others are defending him, describing calls for his removal as extortion.
The crisis comes at a tough time for Lebanon, as it grapples with rising poverty and unemployment, the fallout from some of the worst violence in Beirut in years, and calls for major reforms from a divided but entrenched political elite. Many blame the country’s leadership for years of corruption and mismanagement.
The head of Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic Church said the crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations threatens to undermine the interests of thousands of Lebanese living in those countries, as well as Lebanese businesses that depend on them.
In his Sunday Sermon, Cardinal Bechara Rai suggested he wants the minister to resign.
“We look forward to the President and the Prime Minister and all those concerned to take a decisive action to remove the explosive fuse threatening the Lebanese-Gulf relations,” the Cardinal said.
Saudi Arabia was angered by comments from Lebanon’s information minister in which he had described the war in Yemen as an aggression by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He called the war “absurd,” adding that Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have the right to defend themselves.
George Kordahi, who hosted a game show for years on a Saudi-owned TV station, has refused to apologize, saying his comments meant no offense to the kingdom. The comments were recorded weeks before Kordahi became minister.
But Riyadh reacted swiftly once the comments spread online, recalling its ambassador to Lebanon and asking the Lebanese envoy to leave. Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain followed suit. In a further escalation late on Sunday, the Emirates urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, according to a tweet posted by the official WAM news agency.
The Saudis also banned all Lebanese imports — a major blow to one of Lebanon’s largest export markets. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese live and work in…
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