PSP Slams Bassil's 'Incitement against Refugees' at Brussels Conference

The Progressive Socialist Party on Tuesday blasted Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's remarks at an international conference that was held Monday in Brussels.

“When the Foreign Minister represents Lebanon at international conferences, he should speak on behalf of the entire Lebanese government and he should endorse the spirit of its Policy Statement and consensual policies, instead of raising existential questions that reflect the viewpoint of his political group and contradict with the general atmosphere that formed in Lebanon after the Taef Accord, which confirmed Lebanon's unity as a final homeland for all its sons,” the PSP said in a statement.

“Promoting outdated isolationist theories strikes the foundations of partnership and equality in the country and gives the impression that Lebanon contains native and subordinate citizens, which takes us back to old ideas and ideologies whose revival would be detrimental,” the party warned.

Also commenting on Bassil's remarks at the Brussels 'International Conference on the Victims of Ethnic and Religious Violence in the Middle East', the PSP cautioned against “the Foreign Minister's policy of constant incitement against the displaced and the refugees in Lebanon.”

This policy “reflects veiled intentions to take arbitrary measures against them and against their dignity and personal safety, in a manner that contradicts with all law, norms and human rights,” the party warned.

It also urged the government to “shoulder its responsibilities in this regard based on the principles of national consensus regarding this file.”

Bassil had warned Monday that “encouraging the movement of refugees strips the societal fabric of its richness and beauty.”

Commenting on a statement that was issued after a Brussels conference on Syrian refugees, Bassil cautioned that “the international community and the European Union have touched red lines that threaten our existence and our entity.”

“We want a policy different than the one that demands the settlement of refugees. Their return has become possible and obligatory, even if it happens in a gradual manner. It is the responsibility of the international community and the EU to finance their return, and they must pay attention to the fact that we will not wait for Lebanon's collapse,” the minister added.