Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs... Here are the details

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants announced that it "succeeded, under the direct guidance of Minister Youssef Raji and with diligent follow-up from the Lebanese General Consulate in New York, in correcting the text placed on the memorial dedicated to honoring the great writers and poets of the diaspora, founders of the Pen League, in Elizabeth Berger Park in New York City."

The ministry said in a statement: "This text had erred in identifying the national identity of these pioneers, describing them as Syrian writers, ignoring their authentic Lebanese affiliation, even though among them are prominent names that left their mark on Arab diaspora literature: Mikhail Naimy, Kahlil Gibran, Ameen Rihani, and Elia Abu Madi, who carried the name of Lebanon to the world through their writings and intellectual and artistic works, and formed a fundamental pillar of the Arab literary renaissance in the diaspora since the founding of the Pen League in 1920."

It confirmed that "following the intensive contacts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the competent authorities in New York through its general consulate there, the old explanatory plaque accompanying the project 'Al Qalam: Poets in the Park' was removed and replaced with a new plaque containing the required correction, accurately identifying the Lebanese identity of these writers in line with historical and cultural facts."