Bassil: Refugees Issue Dangerous, could Scupper Lebanon

Local Editor

Lebanese Energy minister Gibran Bassil warned Thursday that "the influx of Syrian and Palestinian refugees away from the Syrian conflict made Lebanon suffer the stage of bulge, which is threatened to burst."

In an interview with as-Safir Lebanese daily, Bassil viewed that "if our seek to prevent the explosion will make us accused of racism, we are ready for another sacrifice in order to maintain the interest of the country."
He further clarified that the Free Patriotic Movement calls for controlling the borders and not closing them.

In parallel, the minister urged the countries that contribute in agitating Syria's war to bear some of the consequences of their behavior and to receive the displaced on their territory, especially that they can provide them better life.

Similarly, Bassil called the international community that caused the Syrian war to shoulder its responsibilities towards the displaced, unless it wants to repeat the experience of displacement of Palestinians in 1948. "We won't accept that," he stressed.

In other remarks to al-Akhbar Lebanese daily, Bassil warned that "the issue of refugees from Syria turned to a big and dangerous problem that could scupper the election law and the entire country."

Moreover, he emphasized that "we cannot keep ourselves busy with secondary issues and put the core issue to one side."
Bassil also stated that the "refugee's issue should not be addressed under humanitarian pretexts or through exchanging diplomatic messages."
"We, in the council of ministers, will stand to defend Lebanon's rights and its interests," he concluded.


Source: Lebanese dailies, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org