Charafeddine: Cabinet decisions on Syrian refugees are 'timid'

BEIRUT — Caretaker Minister for Displaced Persons Issam Charafeddine gave an interview with local television station MTV on Thursday in which he stated that "the decisions taken by the government regarding the issue of Syrian refugees are only timid."

"There is external collusion against Lebanon on the refugee issue and internal silence, and the solution begins in Syria,” said Charafeddine. He blamed Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil for “restricting his four ministers, who are concerned by the Syrian refugee issue."

Ministers with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) have boycotted all cabinet sessions since former President Michel Aoun's mandate expired in October 2022. The FPM criticizes cabinet meetings in the absence of a president and accuses caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati of wanting to arrogate himself presidential responsibilities. 

A special cabinet meeting was dedicated to the refugee issue in mid-September. While some FPM-affiliated MPs expressed their intention to partake in the meeting, they ultimately refrained from doing so.

In a statement, caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar, who's affiliated with the FPM, said he boycotted the session because it "needs more preparation to be effective."

Charafeddine added: "I have called for a central security meeting, as long as the Supreme Defense Council cannot convene in the absence of a President of the Republic, and this is the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior, and I put myself at risk because I raise my voice against the procrastinators, against the United Nations, and the United States, and the collusion [formed] against us."

Charafeddine also accused the UN Refugee Agency of "encouraging refugees to come to Lebanon by giving them monthly salaries, and the current cabinet prevents their return to Syria."

"The most suitable solution for the refugee issue is to elect a president willing to follow up on the issue, and for the Ministry of Interior to track the refugees who visit Syria and return to Lebanon with a refugee card," Charafeddine continued. "The Minister of Foreign Affairs [Abdallah Bou Habib] should completely step aside from the issue of Syrian refugees and assign another minister to undertake this task, and there is collusion against Lebanon and the settlers among us."

Bou Habib announced earlier this month that he intended to visit Syria to discuss the refugee file with his Syrian counterpart, but no such visit has yet been planned.