By Hussein Dakroub
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s deportation of 14 Syrians,
including anti-regime activists, to Damascus drew wide condemnation Thursday
from the opposition March 14 coalition as well as from the U.S. and the EU.
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt demanded the
dismissal of the chief of General Security for taking the decision. The
Syrians’ expulsion also sparked a heated debate during a Cabinet session, with
Jumblatt’s three ministers denouncing the decision and demanding a
clarification of the circumstances that led General Security to hand them over
to Syrian authorities.
Reaction to the deportation reflects the wide
schism between the March 14 coalition and the Hezbollah-led March 8 bloc over
the 17-month uprising in Syria. The March 14 coalition strongly supports the
rebels who seek to topple President Bashar Assad, while Hezbollah and its March
8 allies back the Syrian regime.
Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet
meeting chaired by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Social Affairs Minister Wael
Abu Faour said: “Our information indicated that the number of Syrians handed
over by General Security to Damascus was one. Later, we learned that the number
has risen to 14 people.”
He added that he and Public Works Minister
Ghazi Aridi and Minister for the Displaced Alaaeddine Terro discussed the
matter with Mikati.
Abu Faour said that neither President Michel Sleiman,
nor Interior Minister Marwan Charbel was aware of the decision to deport the
Syrians.
But this was disputed by Charbel while Abu
Faour was speaking to reporters. “I challenge that any [security] apparatus
under my command does anything of which I am not aware.”
Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, who belongs
to Speaker Nabih Berri’s parliamentary bloc, defended the General Security’s
decision, saying the deported Syrians were sentenced on various crimes that
were not politically motivated.
Responding to Jumblatt’s ministers who
defended the Syrian activists, Hezbollah’s Minister of State for Administrative
Reform Mohammad Fneish said: “If some had questions, we also have questions
about the wounded that are being treated in Lebanese hospitals. Most of them
are fighters against the Syrian regime who were wounded in battles.”
A Human Rights Watch representative told AFP
that the 14 men were deported Wednesday, despite the fact that four of them had
asked not to be expelled for fear of persecution if handed over to Syrian
authorities.
General Security said in a statement that the
expulsion of the Syrians was not politically motivated. It said the Syrians had
committed violations and criminal acts, including thefts, attacking the house
of an army officer, insulting the military establishment and the use of forged
documents.
“Therefore, the decision to deport the 14
Syrians was based on criminal acts and violations committed during their stay
in Lebanon,” General Security said. “Any decision to deport Syrian, Arab or
foreign nationals is a decision based on judicial and security cases in line
with the standards set forth in regional and international agreements and
treaties.
“Exempted from this are those where evidence
shows their lives might be in danger in their country if they were deported,”
it added. “This procedure has been used with Syrian nationals since the
beginning of the painful events in [Syria].”
But Jumblatt, a harsh critic of Assad,
demanded the dismissal of Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, chief of General Security,
accusing him of carrying out Damascus’ orders.
“We call on the Lebanese government and the
relevant authorities to clarify all the circumstances relating to this issue
and to launch a probe to determine responsibility and take disciplinary measures
against the director general of General Security, leading to his sacking, if
need be, in order to stop this ongoing farce,” Jumblatt said in a statement. He
said that four political activists are among the deported.
“Here the director general of General Security
is giving a new proof of his total submission to the Syrian regime,” Jumblatt
said. “After his [Ibrahim’s] police adventures with the arrest of Shadi
Mawlawi, which threatened to ignite Tripoli and the north and plunge the region
into massive strife, he hands over 14 Syrian citizens who sought refuge in
Lebanon to escape the repression of the [Syrian] regime – including four
political activists – under the pretext that they are wanted by the Syrian
judiciary.”
Jumblatt said he opposed the handover of any
Syrian citizen who sought refuge in Lebanon “under any pretext or for any
reason.”
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, head of
the parliamentary Future bloc, condemned the deportation of the Syrians, saying
the move was contrary to the Human Rights Charter.
“The handover of 14 Syrian nationals to the
Syrian regime is an act condemned together by heart and conscience. It is not
possible to hand over 14 activists to a regime that is killing its own people
no matter what reasons General Security uses as an excuse to deport these
people,” Siniora said in a statement.
The Lebanese Forces expressed surprise over
the deportation of the Syrians, saying the move showed “a complete bias” to the
Assad regime.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura
Connelly said her country was deeply disturbed by the deportation of the 14
Syrians, according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy.
Connelly also “stressed the importance of
protecting all Syrians, including dissenters and deserters, who have rejected
violence, in keeping with Lebanon’s international humanitarian obligations,”
the statement said.
Connelly’s remarks came during a meeting with
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, at his residence in Rabieh,
north of Beirut, with whom she discussed the political and security situation
in Lebanon and developments in Syria.
“She praised the Lebanese Armed Forces and the
Internal Security Forces for their efforts to maintain calm in Lebanon, and
supported the government’s decision to increase the Army’s presence along the
border,” the statement said.
EU Ambassador to Lebanon
Angelina Eichorst expressed concern over the deportation of the Syrians. Asked
to comment on the Syrians’ deportation, Eichorst told the state-run National
News Agency: “Lebanon has endorsed the U.N. Agreement to fight torture and it
must respect its international obligations. It must not deport people who might
be exposed to torture or mistreatment.”http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Aug-03/183256-deportation-of-anti-regime-syrians-creates-political-storm.ashx#axzz22OD0d0aY
No comments:
Post a Comment