Caretaker Displaced Minister, Issam Sharafeddine, considered that ‘the file of displaced Syrians will be discussed seriously this time after the parliamentary recommendation to the government.’
The Minister said in an interview with Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper: ‘This time, due to popular and parliamentary pressure, from religious authorities, from the majority of ministers and all the Lebanese, and as a result of the new security situation and repeated crimes by outlaws, especially from displaced Syrians, the government was forced to make a political decision regarding the displaced.’
He stressed that “the importance of the decision this time lies in the fact that the recommendations came from the Council of Ministers and the Parliament together, And that there is a ministerial committee that prepares periodic reports, pointing out that this committee has existed for two years under the name ‘Committee for the Return of the Displaced,’ but there was no political decision to implement the ministry’s plan, which stipulates the voluntary return of 15,000 Syrians per month, with the possibility that the number of the first group will be 180,000.’
He continued: “The plan was approved by the Syrian side and we prepared a paper of understanding, but we were hesitant and there was no political decision to implement it.”
Sharafeddine disclosed that there will be a visit to Syria, during which he will meet all the ministers concerned with military service, the unregistered individuals, the issue of prisoners, and the issue of border control.
Asked about the one billion euro gift, he said: ‘If the gift of one billion euros is conditional on keeping the displaced in Lebanon, then it is rejected, and if it is conditional on making us border guards in the seaports as well, then it is rejected. We have 3 demands: The first is in Brussels to form a tripartite committee between Lebanon, Syria, and the UNHCR. The second is to give all incentives and benefits to the displaced Syrian upon their return to Syria, including in-kind, material, hospital, social, and educational benefits.The third demand is to ask the Prime Minister to raise the issue of lifting the siege on Syria because it constitutes the main obstacle to the return of displaced Syrians, because this siege and the Americans have placed their hands on the oil sources in northern Syria and the plains that produce grains and which do not help the return of the displaced.’
Regarding the debate between opening the sea or land to displaced Syrians, the minister said: ‘Yes, I demanded that the sea be opened to legitimate convoys based on international decrees and customs in 1951 and the 1967 Protocol. All countries affiliated with the Human Rights Organization are called upon to receive any displaced person from any country in which a civil war took place or economically besieged, and therefore we can start with Canada, North and South America, Australia, and all the countries of the world, and they are obligated to receive them, and we are not their border guards.”
Regarding Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s fear of sanctions, as conveyed by a number of MPs in the parliamentary session, he indicated that ‘the pressures are real and we know that there are sanctions imposed on Lebanese officials. We are a weak third world country, and there is American arrogance and the unjust Caesar Act.’
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon