Bassil lashes out at EU and Mikati over €1 billion aid

Free Patrioric Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Saturday accused the European Commission of "combating the migration of Syrians to its countries" while seeking to "replace the Lebanese people with the displaced Syrians and to change the identity of the people and the land."

His remarks comes after EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday $1 billion in aid for Lebanon during a visit to the crisis-hit country and urged it to tackle illegal migration to the bloc.

The bulk of the package — 736 million euros — would go to supporting Syrian refugees “and other vulnerable groups” in Lebanon, while 200 million euros would bolster Lebanese security services in enforcing border and migration control, according to figures provided by the Cypriot government.

“Lebanon and Lebanon’s people are not for sale or rent, neither through seasonal migration nor through permanent migration. You can buy or subjugate some officials, but you can’t do that to our people and land,” Bassil added, noting that caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati “has spoken of an agreement between Lebanon and the EU for a seasonal migration by Lebanese citizens who would work in European countries.”

“We ask Mikati: how will the 1 billion euros be distributed, is it true that the agreement includes readmitting displaced (Syrians) from Cyprus, and does it include the Syrians and Palestinians who might come from Palestine and Syria? We don’t need money, we need a political decision for the repatriation of the displaced (Syrians),” Bassil went on to say.

He added: “How do you accept a billion euros divided over four years? Are you this cheap? There are vast lands in Syria that can accommodate all the displaced. If the one billion gets paid for the refugee crisis, a large number of them will return to Syria.”