“He went straight for the jugular.” That is how one can summarize the position of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, following his meeting with the Cypriot President and the President of the European Commission on Thursday. Mikati is seemingly preparing a deal to sell Lebanon off for a billion euros “at the expense of the Lebanese.” Come the evening, the caretaker Prime Minister took yet another despicable stance in a televised interview, paving the way for the Lebanese people to go on “seasonal immigration trips” to EU countries and work there.
Does that mean that the Lebanese should now travel “seasonally”, while Syrians get to stay in Lebanon and enjoy all four seasons?
Europe’s financing of the refugee initiative has become a shameful act, one that is equally shameful for the entire international community. In fact, the Lebanese people did not have time to forget the cost imposed by Syrian refugees – a minimum of 30 billion euros, and as much as 50 billion euros according to some sources.
This most recent "blasphemy" approved by Mikati was criticized by a number of MPs, including George Okais, member of the Strong Republic bloc, who deemed the matter “worrying”. In an interview with This is Beirut, Okais maintained that a deal is being made to undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and disregard the country’s higher interest that lies in the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.
Supposing that such fears are unfounded, the caretaker Prime Minister ought – for the sake of his own reputation – to come clean and tell the people what really happened. Is the assistance aimed at facilitating the Syrian refugees’ stay in Lebanon and lifting the burden off Europe? Or is there a different reason altogether? According to Okais, the move in question is suspicious, so are its objectives.
Activating the Beirut port and promoting tax collection – given the frequency of tax evasion, bad spending, and corruption – will pour over 250 million euros into the coffers of the Lebanese state yearly. Therefore, compromising Lebanese sovereignty is simply inconceivable. Okais concluded by emphasizing that the matter has escalated to an existential level, lamenting the absence of decisive measures to address the situation, repatriate refugees, and adopt strategies akin to those implemented by countries such as Turkey and Jordan. Instead, Lebanon appears to be exacerbating the problem, potentially leading to "the end of the Lebanese people".
As for MP Elias Hankach, representing the Kataeb party, emphasized the party's 5513 martyrs who fell in defense of Lebanon, so that the country does not turn into a refuge for any other people, with the blessing of the international community.
In an interview with This is Beirut, Hankach expressed his concern over the deteriorating state of Lebanon, asserting that the implementation of this scheme is imminent. He emphasized its objective of plunging the country further into despair and devaluation. Describing the officials involved as "irresponsible," the Kataeb MP lamented the lack of trust from both the Lebanese people and Parliament. Evidently, the Lebanese did not task Mikati with selling off Lebanon at their expense.
Hankach added: “We want one of two things: for the Syrians to return to their home country, or for the European Union to show generosity by hosting them on its territory; they only make up 0.04% of its total population, after all. In Lebanon, they’ve reached 40%.” The Kataeb party representative also expressed his total rejection of the initiative, stating that what occurred is a deal aimed at selling off a country that sacrificed so much. “More importantly, we will not stand idly by and will continue to pressure the international community,” he declared.
Hankach also went over his meeting in Cyprus with the President of the Cypriot foreign affairs parliamentary commission, during which the two agreed on mutual cooperation regarding this issue that has become a threat for both countries. And given Cyprus’ membership in the EU, it can become Lebanon’s ally and therefore contribute to the establishment of joint delegations to refer the matter – no country in the world is capable of managing such a crisis on its own – to the international community.
In turn, change MP Firas Hamdan told This is Beirut that the refugee issue requires a clear strategy and steps to be taken either locally or with the international community – through government policies – which still hasn’t occurred since 2011. According to him, chaos and anarchy stand in the way of the strategy’s implementation, and some people are benefitting from the assistance at the expense of refugees.
Additionally, Hamdan believes that a billion euros cannot be the solution; what is required is a clear joint strategy to be put together by Parliament and the Cabinet, but the former has no vision in this regard. Not to mention that no mechanism exists that would monitor the way the money is spent, and the organisms that would allocate the funds have not been determined yet.
By law, all spending must be decided upon by the Parliament, and the Cabinet is powerless without parliament’s approval, be it a loan or a donation.
Hamdan also added that the matter requires a decision from the top authority, which is why electing a President is imperative. A new government must also be formed to that end in order to negotiate with the international community and the European Union. A caretaker government is simply not the way to go, its methods even less.
“This no simple trade-off,” Hamdan stressed. The issue needs to be solved politically and technically, and the sides standing in the way of the presidential election – responsible as they are for the crisis – must be pressured into facilitating the process instead.
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