Prime Minister Najib Miqati played down differences between cabinet members on the Syrian refugees in Lebanon saying relief aid to the displaced will continue despite a heated debate on government measures to deal with the situation.
In remarks to As Safir daily published on Friday, Miqati said: “We are responsible towards the refugee issue from its humanitarian and moral aspects.”
“We will implement the government's decisions particularly in terms of the registration of the refugees in parallel with dealing with the issue through the same measures that we had previously adopted,” he said.
His remark came after a dispute on Thursday between cabinet members over a government plan to deal with the rising influx of Palestinian and Syrian refugees who are escaping the fighting between government troops and rebels in the neighboring country.
According to the latest report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 170,637 Syrian refugees have been registered in Lebanon while reports say that around 50,000 are still not registered.
Six ministers from MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc – Jebran Bassil, Salim Jreissati, Gaby Layyoun, Fayez Ghosn, Panos Manjian and Vrej Sabounjian – in addition to Minister of State Nicolas Fattoush voted against the plan, which appeals to the international community for nearly $180 million to help Lebanon address the needs of the displaced.
Bassil and several other Change and Reform ministers proposed during the session held at Baabda Palace to close the border with Syria to control the flow of the refugees.
But he faced severe criticism from the remaining ministers including his allies from Hizbullah and the Amal movement, and a dispute ensued, forcing Miqati to leave the session, An Nahar reported.
However, several ministers followed him and brought him back to the meeting, the newspaper said.
As Safir and An Nahar quoted sources as saying that President Suleiman, Miqati and the ministers of the National Struggle Front, Amal, Hizbullah and the Syrian Social National Party were united in their demand to keep the border open.
They stressed the humanitarian aspect of the case and Lebanon's duties towards the refugees, the sources said.
Following the marathon session, Acting Information Minister Wael Abour Faour said the cabinet resorted to voting to approve the plan which includes urging donor countries to implement their pledges to extend aid to Lebanon.
The plan calls for urging the Arab League and international organizations to hold extraordinary meetings to highlight the situation of the refugees and for friendly countries to share with Lebanon the burden of the funding.
Among the measures included in the plan are the registration of all the refugees to ensure that they receive aid.
The cabinet also tasked Interior Minister Marwan Charbel with forming a cell with the Lebanese Army, the Internal Security Forces, General Security and State Security to come up with a security plan that follows up the conditions of refugees.
