Shaaban Bilal (Beirut, Cairo)
The Minister of Displaced Persons in the Lebanese caretaker government, Issam Sharaf al-Din, stressed the necessity of creating the appropriate environment for the return of displaced Syrians and refugees to their country, or their deportation to a third country, within the framework of distributing burdens fairly among countries, noting that his country is the one that suffers the most if taken into account. The number of displaced people relative to the population.
Sharaf al-Din explained in statements to Al-Ittihad that the war on Gaza has captured global attention during the recent period, but the issue of displaced Syrians has returned to the forefront again during the past few days, indicating that there is a promise from Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati to form a ministerial committee on The first cabinet meeting on the refugee crisis.
The Lebanese Minister pointed out the necessity of coordination with the Syrian side on many files, such as the displaced persons crisis, controlling land crossings and prisoners, water and electricity files, transit transactions for land transport, and others. In addition, there is an urgent need to form a ministerial delegation to discuss these files.
He also considered that the main obstacle to the return of displaced Syrians to their country is the siege imposed on Syria, demanding that the siege be lifted, and that this request be included in any meeting held with Arab, European or American ministers and with UN bodies and international organizations.
He stated that the presence of Syrians in Lebanon for those in professions and crafts is now being regulated and the voluntary return of others is being coordinated, especially since 90% of the displaced are living in difficult living conditions.
He also stressed the importance of political refugees submitting an asylum request to a third country, pointing out that the Commission is supposed to deport them to a third country on the basis of fair distribution.
The Prime Minister of Lebanon called earlier for taking a unified national position regarding dealing with the file of displaced Syrians, warning of the repercussions of the crisis regionally and internationally, as the Lebanese authorities estimate the number of Syrian refugees on its territory at about 1.5 million refugees.
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