“It is not permissible to use ignorance of the law as an excuse.” Abi Rashid attacks Father Hobeika!

The head of the “Land” Association, Paul Abi Rashid, wrote in a post on his account on the “X” platform: “Today, Father Professor George Hobeika, the Vicar General of the Lebanese Maronite Order, surprised us with his defense of the environmental genocide that was discovered last Saturday in the Qadisha Valley, which was caused by the Monastery of Mar. Antonius Qazhaya stated in a press interview that “media exaggeration aims to distort the image of the religious institution. We took permission to implement the projects from the municipality, while what was required to be taken from the Ministry of the Environment, and this is what we did not know about and the municipality did not inform us of, and the goal of these projects is to create A network of roads in forests and forests to open the way for civil defense vehicles to extinguish fires that may break out. Of course, there are losses that we incur when implementing projects, and we will compensate for the loss in vegetation by planting alternative trees.”

He added, “Father, are you afraid of distorting the image of the institution, and why are you afraid of distorting the Qadisha Valley, which has been classified as a world heritage by UNESCO for its beauty and history?”

Abi Rashid continued, “It is strange that you say, Professor, that you are ignorant of the law, while it is not permissible to use ignorance of the law as an excuse. You have been certain since 1997 that the valley has become a natural site protected by the Ministry of the Environment, and that any work intended to be carried out in The scope of this website requires prior approval from the Ministry.”

He continued, “You submitted a request from the Ministry of Agriculture for a tree pruning license. If your project really aimed to build a road to be able to extinguish fires, you would have applied from the Ministry itself for a license to cut down the trees that are obstructing the construction of this road.”

Abi Rashid added, “Road construction projects are subject to a binding environmental impact assessment study approved in advance by the Ministry of Environment. This is in addition to the necessity of obtaining approval from the Ministry of Culture and UNESCO to carry out any project in the valley, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.”

He said: “Unfortunately, the environmental damage caused in the Qadisha Valley as a result of these actions is irreversible.”

Abi Rashid concluded, “In conclusion, we expect the Environmental Public Prosecutor in the North, Judge Ghassan Bassil, to do justice to the Valley of Saints and all the hermits and believers who glorified the Creator and chanted in the Qadisha Valley, “I see you, my God, I see you with what your hands have made.”