WESTERN WARNING TO LEBANON: DO NOT SEND SYRIAN REFUGEES BACK TO SYRIA

Ghada Halawi – (Nida Al-Watan Daily)
19-August-2022
(Translated from Arabic)

It all began at the Brussels meetings in which the two Lebanese Ministers, Foreign Affairs and Social Affairs, Abdallah Abu-Habib and Hector Hajjar respectively, participated. The two officials perceived an unwillingness by the international community to respond positively to, and support, Lebanon’s efforts for a return of the Syrian refugees to their country. Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the time issued his appeal that Lebanon is unable to absorb the refugees and sustain the burden of their presence on Lebanese soil. An international official countered that Lebanon is receiving financial aid in exchange for hosting the refugees and condemned what she called the ongoing ‘mobilization’ against the refugees in Lebanon. This shows a major discrepancy between Lebanon’s intention to send the refugees back and the international community’s refusal and threats to withhold aid. This puts Lebanese authorities in a bind, as they cannot confront or challenge the international community by coordinating the return of the refugees with the Syrian regime without any input by international instances. In order to avoid such a confrontation, the Lebanese government has refrained from holding direct negotiations with the Syrians over refugee return mechanisms. On the other hand, Lebanon is increasingly reeling under the burden of these astronomical numbers of refugees [1.8 million refugees, 4 million native Lebanese] while Lebanese citizens see their livelihoods, purchasing power, local currency and basic services like water and electricity gradually decline.

The refugees’ file has become the subject of meetings alternately held in the presidential palace in Baabda and the Prime Minister’s offices in the Serail, amid conflicting responsibilities between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of the Displaced. Informed sources say that when Minister of the Displaced, Mr. Issam Sharafeddin, notified PM Miqati that a plan for the return of the refugees has been elaborated and will be shared with the Syrians, Miqati replied, “Go to Damascus on a personal basis and do not say that you are an official envoy because international instances refuse to coordinate with the Syrian regime in this matter.”

Against this background, the visit to Syria by Mr. Sharafeddin caused a rift with Minister of Social Affairs, Mr. Hajjar, who said that his colleague’s conduct was an encroachment over his own prerogatives, even as Mr. Sharafeddin shielded himself with the Prime Minister’s approval. The rift in fact erupted into a yelling row in which security personnel had to intervene.

On his visit to Damascus, Mr. Sharafeddin was received by the Syrian Minister of Local Administration and the Interior who said that Syria has no objections to a return of the refugees, and that a general amnesty had been declared to the benefit of everyone…. In the aftermath of the dispute between the two ministers, Mr. Sharafeddin did not show up at yesterday’s meeting at the Serail, while Mr. Hajjar has tried to minimize the impact of the disagreement, saying that it is more important to unify efforts to handle this question, to persevere with attempts to negotiate with the international community in the hope of convincing it of Lebanon’s just position, and to involve other ministries like Foreign Affairs and Defense.

Several social, political and economic factors also play into this question. In the face of the international community’s rejection of the principle of the return and its laying down plans for long term assimilation of the refugees into Lebanese society, the unknown is Syria’s response. Politically, Syria will not accept a solution coming from personal initiatives, even if at ministerial levels, as long as they lack a formal and official character. The real question remains as to which measures can the Lebanese government take in the face of the international refusal to sponsor a return of the refugees. Will the Lebanese government impose an annual tax on the refugees, residence fees, or a tax per refugee tent? Will the government agree to establish with the Syrians a joint coordination committee led by Gen. Abbas Ibrahim of General Security to organize the refugees’ return, as has been previously agreed to?