Maronite Bishops Urge Refugee Repatriation, End to Smuggling

The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday lauded President Michel Aoun’s stance at the U.N. on the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis, as they called for an end to smuggling and corruption in Lebanon.

The president’s stance “demonstrated the severity of the crisis in Lebanon and the solutions needed for its salvation, especially as to asking world leaders to contribute to the safe and dignified return of the Syrian refugees to their country,” the bishops said in a statement issued after their monthly meeting in Bkirki.

“The repatriation conditions have become present in most Syrian regions, according to the international reports,” the bishops added.

Separately, the Maronite bishops stressed that Lebanon cannot carry out reforms “unless everyone seeks to end the waste of public funds, halt the smuggling of goods via legal and illegal border crossings, and combat corruption bravely and comprehensively without taking into consideration anything but the public welfare.”