Govt. Throws Support behind Army as Disagreements Prevent Decision on Refugees
The Council of Ministers on Wednesday threw its support behind the army in connection with the latest operation in the eastern border town of Arsal, as it failed to take any decision regarding the issue of returning Syrian refugees to their country due to heated debates and conflicting viewpoints.
“The Cabinet stressed its support and appreciation of the army and its preemptive operation in pursuit of terrorists, underlining that any voice questioning the army's credibility is rejected,” Information Minister Melhem Riachi told reporters after the session.
The army's treatment of detainees after the Arsal operation has sparked fierce controversy in Lebanon and among the ranks of the Syrian opposition, particularly after images emerged of security forces apparently detaining dozens of refugees and an army announcement that four detainees had died due to “chronic health problems aggravated by weather conditions.”
Some activists have also claimed that the number of deaths is higher than that announced by the army, publishing pictures of dead bodies apparently carrying torture marks.
An army statement had said that seven soldiers were wounded and a Syrian girl was killed Friday when five militants detonated suicide vests and grenades during an army raid on two Syrian refugee encampments near Arsal. The raids were aimed at "arresting terrorists and seizing weapons," the army said.
As for the thorny issue of returning Syrian refugees to so-called safe zones in Syria, Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted during the Cabinet session that “communication with the Syrian regime is a controversial issue, stressing the government's desire that the Syrian refugees be returned home as soon as possible,” Riachi said.
“But we consider that the United Nations' responsibility and we had agreed upon the formation of the government to keep aside political disputes,” Riachi quoted Hariri as saying.
And as the Cabinet failed to take any decision on the issue, President Michel Aoun intervened to put an end to a heated debate over the file between the ministers Michel Pharaon and Ali Qansou.
“We will not talk to a government of criminals and the solution should be through the U.N.,” Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh had announced prior to the session.
The session also witnessed another clash between Justice Minister Salim Jreissati and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq over the issue of alleged interference in the work of the judiciary, especially regarding the release of dozens of detainees held on celebratory gunfire charges.
Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hizbullah meanwhile requested a list of the names of the detainees who were allegedly released due to political pressures and the Cabinet asked Jreissati to submit a report on the issue within 15 days.
Separately, Masnhouq announced that a date will be set next week for parliamentary by-elections to fill the Tripoli and Keserwan vacant seats, noting that such a decree does not require a Cabinet resolution.
Deputy Premier and Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani of the Lebanese Forces meanwhile noted that a Cabinet resolution on the electricity file was not “forged” and that “one word was rather added to it.”
Prior to the session, Riachi had told reporters that “a solution for the refugees crisis can only be reached through the United Nations.”
He was referring to suggestions made by other political parties, mainly Hizbullah, to coordinate the return of the displaced with the Syrian government. The demand was strongly rejected by other political camps mainly al-Mustaqbal Movement.
Hasbani said: “We are committed to what has been agreed upon with the international community and to ensure the safe areas where the displaced can return.”
Qansou for his part said: “Communicating with the Syrian government is the the shortest way to address the file.”
As for the electricity file, Public Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos lamented the confusion surrounding it and said: “The Lebanese can sense a kind of deal (behind the electricity file plan).”
He was referring to the electricity plan suggested by Free Patriotic Movement Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil.
Source: Naharnet
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