Bassil Denies Calling for Border Closure, Proposes Admission Ceiling for Refugees
Energy Minister Jebran Bassil denied on Saturday that the Free Patriotic Movement has called for the closure of the border with Syria, saying the government should put an admission ceiling for refugees crossing to Lebanon.
During a press conference he held at his residence in his hometown of Batroun, Bassil said he urged the cabinet on Thursday to control the influx of refugees and limit the burden on the Lebanese state. “We never said we wanted to expel them.”
But he lamented that he was accused of being racist and confessional, and of seeking parliamentary victories.
“Racism is between red and yellow, white and black but not between two peoples from the same color and confessions,” Bassil stressed.
“How could we be sectarian when the Syrian refugees are Christians and Muslims? How could we be racist when we have common things with the Syrian people?,” he wondered.
Bassil also snapped back at his critics, saying his proposal to put an admission ceiling aimed at meeting the needs of the refugees, was in no way linked to the upcoming parliamentary elections.
He accused the government of “encouraging more Syrians to come to Lebanon” by focusing on the humanitarian aspect of the flow of refugees rather than controlling their numbers.
He hinted that some Syrians were crossing to Lebanon although the areas they are living in are not witnessing turmoil.
“We should learn from our past experiences with the Palestinians though they came to Lebanon in other circumstances,” the minister said.
Bassil proposed “asking other states to take some of the refugees rather than preaching us” how to deal with the refugees.
“We should make sure that the crisis would not worsen and their numbers would decline and not increase,” he said.
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