AKKAR, Lebanon: A March 14 delegation, during a visit to the northern town of Wadi Khaled where thousands of Syrian refugees reside, called on the government over the weekend to provide the refugees humanitarian relief as well as security.
“It is the responsibility of the government to guarantee for the [Syrian refugees] a safe place and for them to come into Lebanon to their families and neighbors without being attacked by any security or civil party,” March 14 Secretary-General Fares Soueid said at a news conference in the northern coastal city of Tripoli.
Tripoli was the first stop by the March 14 delegation, which included members from the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb Party, Future Movement, leftist democrats and other parties affiliated with the opposition.
“The nature of our visit today to the border areas of Wadi Khaled is political par excellence and not social or humanitarian for the Syrian refugees,” Soueid said at the offices of the Future Movement in Tripoli.
“We want to send a political and civil message so that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for what is happening on the Lebanese-Syrian borders,” he added.
Soueid also said that the visit aimed at following up on the living conditions of refugees as well as to allow local, Arab and international media to enter the area without restraints, referring to the media restriction introduced by the Lebanese Army that requires local and foreign journalists to obtain permission to enter the area.
Akkar, the northernmost qada of the country, was the second stop on the delegation’s trip. In the Akkar village of Qanbar, the delegation inspected makeshift facilities recently set up to treat wounded Syrians crossing the border into Lebanon.
The lawmakers, who were accompanied by civil society activists, then visited the village of Al-Ramah in the Wadi Khaled area where they met with a group of Syrian families now housed in an abandoned school.
At the school, Syrian refugees in hundreds chanted slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad and voiced their support of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who recently launched a scathing attack on Damascus, saying change was required in Syria.
Speaking at the school, several lawmakers, including Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel, condemned the Syrian government’s crackdown on protesters and accused the Lebanese government of negligence toward the refugees.
“We ask the Lebanese government, and here we call on Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to instruct the Higher Relief Commission to pay immediate attention, without delay, to our brothers the refugees from Syria by guaranteeing shelters, humanitarian aid, and medical supply,” Soueid said, addressing a crowd of refugees and lawmakers.
Since the uprising in Syria began in mid-March, thousands of Syrians have fled into Lebanon, escaping violence in their home country. The number of refugees has declined gradually following a beefing up of border control measures by the Syrian and Lebanese armies.
Lawmakers of the March 14 coalition have voiced strong opposition to the crackdown by Damascus on protesters. The U.N. says some 3,500 people, mostly civilians, have perished in the crackdown. Syrian authorities deny targeting civilians, blaming their deaths on “armed gangs.”
The opposition grouping has also repeatedly voiced criticism of the Lebanese government’s position regarding events in the neighboring country, which in October abstained from voting on a U.N. Security Council condemning Assad’s crackdown. China and Russia vetoed the resolution.
Some opposition politicians have described these stances as shameful. However, Lebanon’s prime minister insists the country should remain neutral to the situation in Syria.
“It is the responsibility of the government to guarantee for the [Syrian refugees] a safe place and for them to come into Lebanon to their families and neighbors without being attacked by any security or civil party,” March 14 Secretary-General Fares Soueid said at a news conference in the northern coastal city of Tripoli.
Tripoli was the first stop by the March 14 delegation, which included members from the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb Party, Future Movement, leftist democrats and other parties affiliated with the opposition.
“The nature of our visit today to the border areas of Wadi Khaled is political par excellence and not social or humanitarian for the Syrian refugees,” Soueid said at the offices of the Future Movement in Tripoli.
“We want to send a political and civil message so that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for what is happening on the Lebanese-Syrian borders,” he added.
Soueid also said that the visit aimed at following up on the living conditions of refugees as well as to allow local, Arab and international media to enter the area without restraints, referring to the media restriction introduced by the Lebanese Army that requires local and foreign journalists to obtain permission to enter the area.
Akkar, the northernmost qada of the country, was the second stop on the delegation’s trip. In the Akkar village of Qanbar, the delegation inspected makeshift facilities recently set up to treat wounded Syrians crossing the border into Lebanon.
The lawmakers, who were accompanied by civil society activists, then visited the village of Al-Ramah in the Wadi Khaled area where they met with a group of Syrian families now housed in an abandoned school.
At the school, Syrian refugees in hundreds chanted slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad and voiced their support of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who recently launched a scathing attack on Damascus, saying change was required in Syria.
Speaking at the school, several lawmakers, including Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel, condemned the Syrian government’s crackdown on protesters and accused the Lebanese government of negligence toward the refugees.
“We ask the Lebanese government, and here we call on Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to instruct the Higher Relief Commission to pay immediate attention, without delay, to our brothers the refugees from Syria by guaranteeing shelters, humanitarian aid, and medical supply,” Soueid said, addressing a crowd of refugees and lawmakers.
Since the uprising in Syria began in mid-March, thousands of Syrians have fled into Lebanon, escaping violence in their home country. The number of refugees has declined gradually following a beefing up of border control measures by the Syrian and Lebanese armies.
Lawmakers of the March 14 coalition have voiced strong opposition to the crackdown by Damascus on protesters. The U.N. says some 3,500 people, mostly civilians, have perished in the crackdown. Syrian authorities deny targeting civilians, blaming their deaths on “armed gangs.”
The opposition grouping has also repeatedly voiced criticism of the Lebanese government’s position regarding events in the neighboring country, which in October abstained from voting on a U.N. Security Council condemning Assad’s crackdown. China and Russia vetoed the resolution.
Some opposition politicians have described these stances as shameful. However, Lebanon’s prime minister insists the country should remain neutral to the situation in Syria.
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