Consensus on Refugees in Policy Statement Panel as March 8 Insists on 'Army-People-Resistance'

The ministerial panel tasked with drafting the policy statement of the new cabinet agreed Thursday on the need to find a solution to the Syrian refugee crisis in the country, as the ministers of the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp insisted on the so-called "army-people-resistance equation."

"Consensus was reached over the issue of Syrian refugees," al-Jadeed television reported, following the committee's second meeting at the Grand Serail.

But LBCI TV and Future TV noted that “Hizbullah is insisting on the army-people-resistance equation.”

The members of the committee discussed the controversial equation without being able to reach a final stance on it.

“No to the army-people-resistance equation which is not justified anymore after the change of circumstances,” committee member Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi, the Phalange Party's representative, said after the meeting.

For his part, Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb said: “We reject the army-people-resistance equation and we insist on the dissociation policy."

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, another member of the panel, expected "one or two more sessions to finalize the policy statement," saying "there are no obstacles so far."

"A number of topics were discussed and the committee will meet again at 5:00 p.m. Friday at the Grand Serail," the panel said in a brief statement that was issued after the meeting.

The committee held its first meeting on Wednesday under Prime Minister Tammam Salam after it was formed Tuesday during the cabinet's first session.

Salam has announced that the policy statement will be “consensual and concise and will focus on (the country's) priorities prior to the election of a new president.”