GCC States Inform Lebanon of Names of 9 Lebanese whose Residencies Won't Be Renewed
Lebanon has received a list containing the names of nine Lebanese citizens from different sects whose residency permits will not be renewed by Gulf countries they live in, a media report said on Tuesday.
“The foreign ministry received a list containing the names of nine Lebanese who work in Gulf countries and whose residency permits will not be renewed due to their political affiliations,” LBCI television reported.
“The list does not only contain names of individuals from the Shiite sect, as it also mentions the names of two Sunnis and three Christians,” LBCI added.
For his part, caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour told LBCI that “ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council member states are excellent,” noting that the GCC's decision to take measures against Hizbullah members is “political and will not affect the brotherly relations with these countries.”
“The Lebanese abroad do not interfere in the policies of the countries in which they work,” Mansour added, saying “more than a Lebanese party has intervened militarily in Syria and no one side should be held fully responsible.”
“The measures must be based on facts and must be balanced,” the minister added.
The Gulf Cooperation Council on Monday decided to adopt several measures against Hizbullah members in the council's member states as a response to the party's involvement in the Syrian conflict.
The council strongly condemns the party's involvement in the fighting in Syria and announced measures against Hizbullah members regarding their residency permits and their financial transactions.
Hizbullah fighters spearheaded a devastating 17-day assault on the Syrian town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border which culminated on Wednesday with its recapture from the rebels.
The party's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had previously justified the group's involvement in Syria by saying they were defending Lebanese-inhabited border villages inside Syria and Shiite holy sites.
But during a May 25 speech marking the 13th anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from Lebanon, Nasrallah said the Takfiris are the “most prevailing group in the Syrian opposition,” warning against a defeat against them in the ongoing war in Syria.
He said: “If Syria falls in the hands of the Takfiris and the United States, the resistance will become under a siege and Israel will enter Lebanon. If Syria falls, the Palestinian cause will be lost.”
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/86572 |