The controversial issue of Syrian refugees has returned to the spotlight in Lebanon after a member of the Lebanese Democratic Party, a close ally of the Syrian regime, was tasked with heading the ministry concerned with the affairs of the displaced.
The first political figure warning from the gravity of the situation was former MP and head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblat.
“We will not give up on protecting the refugees and we will not be dragged into the pro-Syria camp's wishes to send them to the holocaust and torture in Syria,” Jumblat said a few days ago.
Following Jumblat’s statements, former Minister of the Displaced Moeen Merehbi refused to attend the handover ceremony, saying such a move would be tantamount to putting the fate of the refugees in the hands of a Syrian regime ally.
In the newly formed 30-member cabinet, the Ministry of Refugee Affairs was handed to Saleh Al-Gharib, a representative of LDP Chairman Talal Arslan, who is Jumblat’s rival in the Druze community and a close ally of Syria.
Therefore, the Lebanese government’s management of Syrian refugee affairs in Lebanon will now shift from the hands of the Mustaqbal Movement to the allies of the Syrian regime in Lebanon.
Gharib told Asharq Al-Awsat that “coordination with Syria is mandatory for any solution to the file of the displaced,” while respecting the Russian initiative and coordination with the international community.
A ministerial committee tasked with drafting the new government’s ministerial statement concluded its mission on Thursday.
Parliament should convene next week to discuss and approve this statement.
After reading its final draft, Information Minister Jamal Jarrah said all Lebanese agree on the return of the refugees to safe areas.
“We did not mention the words political solution or voluntary return. We said the return to safe areas, and we adopted some wordings that will be approved by the Council of Ministers and we will talk about them in due time,” the minister told reporters.
Last month, the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in Beirut issued a statement calling on the international community to support Arab countries hosting Syrian refugees and encourage Syrian refugees to return to their country.
