Cabinet to Hold Session on Refugees from Syria as Miqati Says Opposition Boycott Harming Lebanon
Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Wednesday that Lebanon is committed to its moral and humanitarian duties towards refugees fleeing Syria to Lebanon.
He made his remarks during a cabinet session at the Grand Serail after which Information Minister Walid al-Daouq revealed that another meeting will be held soon in order to tackle the flow of Syrian and Palestinian refugees to Lebanon.
The session will be held on December 27.
Daouq quoted Miqati as saying during the cabinet session: “Lebanon is being influenced by the developments in Syria, which is why the government will commit to its policy of disassociation that it adopted at the beginning of the crisis.”
“This policy protects Lebanon,” added the premier.
Addressing the March 14-led opposition's boycott of government-related work, Miqati said: “Some members of the opposition are banking on changes that they believe will fall in their favor, but the boycott is only harming the Lebanese people and the country's image.”
“The government has made several achievements and it has demonstrated its credibility in numerous internal and external issues,” he said.
“The government has garnered the international and Arab communities' respect,” declared the prime minister during the cabinet session.
He therefore called on all sides to return to the national dialogue because it alone can end the differences between the various rival factions.
Miqati reiterated his statements later on Wednesday by saying that the government will continue to provide humanitarian aid to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
He made his remarks after congratulating Youhanna X on his appointment as the new Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Levant and Antioch.
The premier added: “We will not disassociate ourselves from this issue.”
“We are performing what our conscience dictates us to do regarding the refugees,” he stressed.
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