Mustaqbal Says to Boycott Dialogue, Urges Govt. to Organize Int'l Conference on Refugees

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Thursday announced that it will not return to the national dialogue table before the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government, calling for a “regional-international conference” that would help Lebanon cope with the influx of refugees from war-torn Syria.

“There is no alternative to dialogue ... but dialogue must be productive and beneficial for the Lebanese, not a media event that Hizbullah would use as a cover to carry on with its scheme that aims to militarily control the state and the country and its institutions,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

And as it highly appreciated “the efforts, intentions and role of President Michel Suleiman,” who has called for a national dialogue session to be held on January 7, the bloc stressed that the agreements reached during previous dialogue sessions must be implemented and that the dialogue session “must respect the minds of the Lebanese and their aspiration for a modern, competent and just state.”

The Mustaqbal bloc reiterated that it will not return to dialogue table “except after the resignation of the current government and after Hizbullah admits that the purpose of dialogue is to organize its weapons and put them under the authority of the state.”

Turning to the issue of the much-debated electoral law, the bloc noted that it is "open to finding an electoral law that would take into consideration the concerns of all partners in this country and preserve the fairness and inclusiveness of representation, freedom of choice and the principle of coexistence among the Lebanese -- away from the approach of the hegemony of arms and gunmen.”

Separately, the bloc blamed the government for “the worsening problem of Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon,” saying “ever since the crisis started in Syria, the government has been avoiding to lay out a clear policy concerning the Syrian refugees, in compliance with the demands of the Syrian regime which had denied and continues to deny that there is a refugee problem.”

"The government's policy of appeasement and denial” is behind the refugee problem in the country, the bloc said, calling on the government to “organize a regional-international conference for donor organizations and states that would support a Lebanese governmental plan to aid Syrian refugees and help them overcome their difficulties.”

The bloc also said Lebanese authorities must exercise control over the places of residence of refugees “in a proper and humanitarian manner,” saying they must be offered sanctuary in areas near the Lebanese-Syrian border, “especially that their numbers might increase in the future as the conflict worsens.”