Arabic 21
Lebanese media revealed that Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati had assigned the Director General of Public Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, to follow up on the issue of returning Syrian refugees from Lebanon.
The text of the resolution stated that Ibrahim is charged with following up the issue of returning the displaced Syrians to secure their safe and voluntary return, and communicating with the concerned Syrian authorities, with the possibility of seeking the assistance of whomever he deems appropriate from public administrations, public institutions and civil society bodies, in order to save the task required of them.
Mikati’s decision came, while sending a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, in which he warned that the situation in Lebanon might spiral out of control because of the Syrian refugees.
He added that Lebanon is a small country, with a population of 4 million, which hosts the highest proportion of refugees in the world in terms of population.
While there was no comment yet from Major General Abbas Ibrahim on his new assignment.
Simultaneously, the head of the Syrian opposition coalition, Salem al-Maslat, sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, the President of the Security Council in the current session, the French ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Regarding the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
In the message published by the coalition on its official website, Al-Maslat indicated that the suffering of Syrians in Lebanon is increasing, given Hezbollah’s control over various sectors and facilities in Lebanon.
He added that the refugees are subjected to suffering, most notably the deteriorating security situation, the repeated recording of assault incidents that have reached the point of killing, in addition to harsh living conditions, and the refusal of the Lebanese official authorities to deliver international aid that reaches Syrian refugees as it is.
Al-Maslat pointed to the repeated statements by politicians calling for the return of Syrians, and the forced expulsion of hundreds of refugees and their handing over to the Assad regime to meet an unknown fate, calling for urgent intervention, and calling on the Lebanese official authorities to stop any plan to deport Syrians and to respect international laws requiring the protection of refugees and granting them their rights and implementing Lebanon’s obligations towards refugees in accordance with the relevant international laws.
Moving the refugee return file
Regarding Ibrahim’s assignment to manage this file, the Lebanese journalist writer Youssef Diab indicates that the Lebanese government has drawn up a plan to return the displaced/Syrian refugees, with the aim of alleviating the economic and social pressure in Lebanon, and depleting resources significantly, in light of the economic difficulties that the country suffers from. A case of near bankruptcy.
He added to “Arabi 21”, that Lebanon spoke more than once regarding the necessity of returning the displaced Syrians, but on condition of coordination with the United Nations to ensure their return to safe areas, and with guarantees.
It seems, according to Diab, that this plan failed, due to the lack of interest from the United Nations, especially following international attention shifted to Ukraine, specifically from the European Union.
“Best Broker”
Faced with this reality, the Lebanese government continues to implement individual solutions aimed at returning the displaced Syrians. Diab says that Ibrahim was assigned this file, because he may be the best mediator with the Syrian regime, because of his relations with the Syrian regime and intelligence services.
Hence, Diab believes that Ibrahim’s mission to return large numbers of refugees may succeed, ruling out at the same time that pressures will increase on the displaced to return, especially since the majority of those who think regarding returning are suffering from a tragic situation, in light of the lack of international aid and its suspension in some cases. .
Syrian fear
On the other hand, the Syrian “Reform Movement” criticized Mikati’s move, stressing in a statement received by “Arabi 21”, a copy of it, on Saturday, that the move contradicted UN directives, and human rights organizations objected to the return of Syrian refugees, because of the danger to their lives.
The current accused Lebanon of ignoring the responsibility of “Hezbollah” for the causes of the Syrian exodus, criticizing the government’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities towards the torture and abuse suffered by the refugees in Lebanon.
The statement said that the Syrian refugees suffer from difficult economic conditions and live below the poverty line, despite the international community providing more than $9 billion to Lebanon in exchange for hosting the refugees.
Pressure on the Syrians
In the same context, the “President of the Syrian Association for Refugee Rights” Mudar Hammad Al-Asaad confirmed that the Syrian refugees are under pressure from the successive Lebanese governments mainly.
He added to “Arabi 21”, that returning Syrian refugees to their country in the presence of the repressive regime poses a threat to their lives, as the regime is still arresting numbers of Syrians who enter the country, with the recognition of more than one human rights organization.
Al-Assaad reminded “the brothers in Lebanon that the Syrians had received a large number of them more than once, during the civil war in Lebanon and during the Israeli aggression once morest Lebanon in 2006.”
He continued, “We hope that Lebanon will continue to return the favor to the Syrians, and we do not deny them credit, but today there is no voluntary return, in the presence of the Assad regime, “Hezbollah” and Iranian militias.”
Lebanon hosted, according to government figures, 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and the number of them registered with the UNHCR is regarding 900,000.
