The expatriate body of the Lebanese Kataeb Party stated in a press release that "the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants is presenting to the Cabinet a proposal to close six missions, five of which are located in Latin America: the embassies of Lebanon in Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay, and the Lebanese consulate in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in addition to the embassy in Malaysia." This move, taken under the pretext of reducing expenses, is nothing more than a hasty step that would sever the thin thread connecting expatriate Lebanese to their homeland at a time when their country needs them more than ever.
The statement continued: "The expatriate body of the Kataeb Party joins the voices of thousands of expatriates who have expressed their absolute rejection of this step. It demands that the Minister of Foreign Affairs review his lists and cleanse them of employees who have been placed in foreign missions due to a prevailing policy of favoritism. This would result in greater savings than the amount he claims will be saved by closing the embassies and consulate he proposes to suspend, while maintaining the ties that bind Lebanese in the homeland to their fellow citizens abroad."
The expatriate body called on the Cabinet, "which postponed its decision on the proposal in its last session, to refrain from taking such a step and to withdraw the proposal from circulation permanently, in response to the wishes of expatriate Lebanese who reject severing their ties with their homeland due to corruption, mismanagement, and poor judgment."
