Free Patriotic Movement Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, affirmed that ‘Batroun today presents a new practical model for resolving the problem of displaced Syrians in its jurisdiction under the authority of municipalities and the application of Lebanese laws.’
Speaking at the municipal and mayoral conference to organize the Syrian presence in the Batroun district, Bassil said: ‘I would be more proud and happy if we succeeded together in achieving practical results on gradually reducing the number of illegal Syrian refugees in our region, leading to rendering Batroun completely free of displaced Syrians.’
He clarified that he was referring to illegal Syrian refugees, stressing that the legitimately-present Syrians are part of our productive society that we wish to preserve within our needs and capabilities.
Bassil went on to affirm, “Lebanon and Batroun are not for sale. Lebanon is for the Lebanese, Batroun is for the Batrounis and for the Lebanese…We cannot grant them [Lebanon and Batroun] to anyone except our
children and youth, and this is a debt we owe to them.”
He continued to underline that everyone knows the position of the Free Patriotic Movement on the Syrian crisis, specifically on the issue of the displaced from the first moment when the number of displaced was only 3,000, when it demanded that borders be controlled and entry be prohibited except for purely humanitarian and health cases, and for camps to be established on the border from the Syrian side in a ‘no man’s land’ area.
‘We are the largest donor country regarding the issue of displaced persons. To date, we have granted 57-58 billion dollars to the displaced. Europe has given us only 2.6 billion euros from 2011 until today, and this billion that they promise us, we do not want it to help the Syrians to remain in Lebanon. We will accept it if it is meant to help Syrians return to their country,’ Bassil asserted.
Finally, the FPM Chief thanked Batroun’s governor, mayor and all dignitaries and officials who are ‘cooperating to render Batroun a mo
del in everything and an example for everyone, and to have it free of Syrian displacement.’
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon