Report: GCC Countries to Ban Lebanese from Entering Territories
The Gulf countries will ban Lebanese citizens from entering their territories if the Lebanese state failed to take a firm stance from statements issued by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, media reports said on Tuesday.
According to al-Akhbar newspaper, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani informed Lebanese Chargé d'affaires in Saudi Arabia Munir Anouti that the Gulf countries demand the government to take a strict stance from Aoun's statements on the developments in Bahrain.
The newspaper reported that Kuwaiti authorities also denounced Aoun's statements in a memo received by the Lebanese embassy.
On Monday, al-Zayani strongly condemned Aoun's rhetoric during a meeting with Anouti at the GCC Secretariat General's headquarters in Riyadh.
The memo described Aoun's statements to Iran's al-Alam television last week as “irresponsible,” considering them “misleading... and having nothing to do with the real situation in Bahrain.”
The FPM leader said that the demands of the protesters in Bahrain are “fair and justified.”
He criticized the Arab League and international community for failing to support the protests.
Aoun added: “It's unfortunate that a peaceful revolution, which has been oppressed and going on for three years, has not been recognized enough by the world.”
"Such irresponsible statements contradict with the historical and brotherly ties between Lebanon and GCC countries,” the memo pointed out.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Najib Miqati telephoned his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman, stressing that Lebanon respects Bahrain's sovereignty and that the stances voiced by some Lebanese leaders do not reflect the government's official stance.
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