NNA - Caretaker Minister of Culture, Judge Muhammad Wissam Al-Mortada, mourned the passing of Lebanese renowned creative artist Romeo Lahoud, in an issued statement this evening in which he said: "In the absence of Romeo Lahoud, one of the genuine art lights is refracted, and a sad tear falls on the face of the Lebanese culture.”

He added: “For long decades, he was the mediator through creativity, insight and guiding the young whose names turned into stars in the Arab sky.”

“Today, in the midst of Independence Day, he is freed from the weakness of the body, as his spirit goes free towards its creator, so that his name remains a green branch of the cedars of Lebanon,” Al-Mortada concluded.

========R.Sh.