Administrative or Political Mishap? Syrian Refugee Camps Face March 8 Rejection
Several March 8 ministers have rejected a measure by the Higher Relief Council to give Syrians, who have escaped their country, refugee cards and establish camps for 50,000 refugees, As Safir daily reported Tuesday.
During a cabinet session held at Baabda palace on Monday, the ministers expressed fears that such a move would put “political, administrative, financial, security and demographic” burdens on the Lebanese state under the pretext of humanitarian support.
They said the government should prevent the measures taken by the head of the HRC, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Bashir.
According to As Safir, the ministers wondered whether Bashir’s decision was in harmony with the stance of the government from the developments in Syria and its official rejection to establish refugee camps for the Syrians who have escaped the bloody crackdown by the Assad regime on protestors.
But the newspaper quoted Premier Najib Miqati as saying that the move was an “administrative mishap and had no political intentions.”
“We have previously rejected the establishment of camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” he stressed to appease the fears of the ministers.
There are an estimated 3,798 Syrian nationals registered with the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and the HRC, the agency said last month.
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