Prime Minister Najib
Miqati on Friday stressed that his government will continue its so-called
self-dissociation policy towards the Syrian crisis, noting that “the
humanitarian situation of the Syrian refugees must not become an obstacle to
implementing the judicial verdicts issued against the culprits of crimes that
have nothing to do with politics.”
“The repercussions of
the unrest in Syria have become a topic for an intense campaign against the
government and its policies, at a time we have put Lebanon’s higher interest
above all else and committed to the policy of self-dissociation which
represents a well-calculated choice that stems from our firm belief in
Lebanon’s distinguished role among the region’s countries,” Miqati said during
an iftar banquet at the Grand Serail.
“We have gained the
support of the international community for our choice,” Miqati noted.
“We will carry on with
these choices of refraining to interfere in the affairs of others and
protecting our country from the repercussions of the external events,” the
premier stressed.
He reassured that the
government will not take “decisions that do not reflect national consensus” and
that it will not tolerate “the violation of national sovereignty or the
Lebanese border in the North and the Bekaa.”
Addressing the issue of
the influx of Syrian refugees, Miqati said: “The increasing numbers of the
refugees and our weak resources pushed us to seek the help of foreign countries
and international and humanitarian organizations so that they contribute to
providing health care for these” refugees.
Commenting on the latest
controversial deportation by Lebanon of 14 Syrian nationals to their
strife-torn country, Miqati said: “The humanitarian situation of our brothers
the refugees, which is receiving our utmost attention and care, must not become
an obstacle to implementing the judicial verdicts issued by the relevant courts
against the culprits of crimes that have nothing to do with politics.”
Politics “must remain
away from the work of the upright and fair Lebanese judiciary,” Miqati added.
“While the government
believes that it is unacceptable to politicize every administrative, security
or judicial measure taken in line with the applicable laws and regulations, it
is also keen on respecting the principles of the International Bill of Human
Rights, which Lebanon was among its first signatories, especially as to refraining
from putting the safety of individuals at risk,” Miqati added.
Lebanon’s General
Directorate of General Security deported 14 Syrians on Wednesday, drawing
criticism from human rights activists.
A Human Rights Watch
representative in Beirut said some of the deportees had expressed fears of
persecution on their return.
"Fourteen men were
deported to Syria today, despite the fact that four of them had asked not to be
deported for fear of persecution if handed over to the Syrian
authorities," the HRW representative told Agence France Presse.
One of them might be a
political activist, the representative said, noting that the detainee had
contacted HRW prior to being handed over to Syrian authorities at the border
and expressed fear about what might happen to him.
But the General Security
announced Friday that those deported were convicted of non-political crimes
committed in Lebanon.
“The persons deported
received judicial verdicts for crimes they committed on Lebanese territory,
which the Syrian state has nothing to do with,” the directorate said, adding
that “these verdicts were related to theft, forgery and rape attempts, not to
anything else.”
Progressive Socialist
Party leader MP Walid Jumblat accused on Thursday General Security chief Maj.
Gen. Abbas Ibrahim of utterly following the Syrian regime’s orders by deporting
the 14 Syrians.
The cabinet should “take
all the disciplinary measures against the Maj. Gen. and to sack him if
necessary to halt this ongoing charade,” Jumblat said.
The Druze leader lashed
out at Ibrahim, saying that the fate of these 14 men will be “their murder and
liquidation before proving them guilty.”
Former premier Fouad
Saniora, head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, on Friday called on EU and
U.N. officials to condemn the Lebanese government “in the strongest terms” over
the deportation, voicing concerns that the step might be repeated in the future
and stressing that the government will be held accountable.http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48841
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