Interior Ministry Asks Refugees Not to Stage Rallies that May 'Affect Security'

The Ministry of Interior on Thursday called on Syrian refugees not to stage any political rallies that “might in any way affect security and stability in Lebanon or the relations between Syrian refugees and Lebanese citizens.”

The ministry said the measure is based on “the Lebanese government's stance which insists on neutralizing Lebanon from the ongoing conflict in Syria, and out of keenness on sound relations between Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees.”

But the ministry noted that the freedom of political stances for refugees is preserved “in a manner that does not contradict with the rules of Lebanese national security.”

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq urged U.N. organizations and international groups concerned with the plight of Syrian refugees to “fully shoulder their responsibilities in this regard, seek to inform Syrian refugees of this statement's content, and to follow up the issue and give it utmost importance.”

The development comes in the wake of rallies staged by Syrian nationals in the Bourj Hammoud and al-Nabaa areas in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has nominated himself for a third presidential term. The demonstrators carried the flags of Syria and Hizbullah.

Damascus has called on all Syrian refugees -- except those who fled “illegally” -- to cast their votes at embassies for the election.

Lebanon is home to more than a million refugees from Syria giving it the highest refugee population per capita in the world.

In an apparently non-political brawl on Saturday, a Lebanese citizen was severely wounded when a Syrian Kurd man hurled a big gas cylinder at him from the second floor of a building. The incident has sent tensions soaring in the predominantly Armenian Lebanese area.

Y.R.

M.T.