“The Syrian displacement issue is an existential threat,” according to the ministers who took part in the consultative meeting held by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The Syrian displacement issue was supposed to be discussed in a meeting of the Council of Ministers which was supposed to take place on Monday at 11:00 AM. However, it failed to take place due to a lack of a quorum. The Lebanese army’s commander-in-chief, General Joseph Aoun, and the head of General Security, General Elias Baissari, took part in the meeting.
Mikati denounced the absence of ministers who, “for the sake of one-upmanship, keep on taking positions on the dossier all day long.”
“What is required is a unified and national stance on how to approach this issue, especially regarding the recent influx of hundreds of Syrians crossing through illegal border,” he added, emphasizing that the government has never delayed in making appropriate decisions on this matter, and the army and all security agencies are fulfilling their duties in this regard.
According to local TV station Al Jadeed, the ministers who were absent from the session were Amine Salam (caretaker Minister of Economy), Walid Nassar (caretaker Minister of Tourism), Nasser Yassin (caretaker Minister of Environment), and Abbas al-Hajj Hassan (caretaker Minister of Agriculture).
In a statement, caretaker Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar said that he decided “not to attend the meeting after realizing through contacts and consultations that the session requires more preparation to be productive and effective, as my expectations have shown.”
