Interior and Municipalities Minister in the caretaker government, Bassam Mawlawi, met in his office with MP Strida Jaafar at the head of a delegation from the Bsharri district. The meeting was an opportunity for MP Jaafar to urge the Minister of Interior to exercise his authority as a Minister of oversight over municipalities, requesting them across various districts and governorates to adhere to the guidelines being implemented in the Bsharri district, to ensure the rights of Lebanese citizens to live in security and safety, and to prevent issues and tensions between Lebanese people and Syrian refugees, as this aligns with the higher national interest.
MP Jaafar also requested Mawlawi to assign the Internal Security Forces to support the municipalities where needed. In a statement following the meeting, she emphasized that "the purpose of the visit, following the tragedies Lebanon has witnessed in recent weeks from murders starting in Beirut to the Jbeil district and the crime of martyr Pascal Suleiman, is to request several matters, most importantly that there are various directives issued by the Ministry of Interior which were studied after being collected by Bsharri Municipal Union president Eli Mekhlouf, who collaborated in this regard with the mayors of Bsharri district. These directives have been implemented in the Bsharri district through addressing the presence of illegal Syrian migrants."
She stated, "The Bsharri district has the least number of Syrians; in winter, there are between 900 and 1,000 workers, while in summer, this number rises to between 1,700 and 1,900 workers due to the apple season. In other districts like Batroun, there are 40,000 Syrians, in Zgharta 62,000 Syrians, in Koura 30,000 Syrians, in Keserwan 50,000 Syrians, and in Metn 150,000 Syrians. If we total all the Christian areas in the north and Mount Lebanon, in addition to Jezzine, the total reaches 830,000 Syrians. We thanked the minister for his stance last Thursday and urged him to invite all the mayors of Lebanon and to circulate these directives to them, knowing that they were implemented in the Bsharri district, so that we can soon reduce the number of Syrian refugees, aiming to return one and a half million illegal refugees out of two million Syrian refugees to secure areas in their country, knowing that the number of legal refugees does not exceed half a million."
She added, "This is what we discussed in the presence of the mayors and the union president, as well as my colleague, former MP Joseph Issac." She stressed that "this is a Lebanese demand, from the far north to the far south, everyone is calling for the return of Syrians to their country and specifically to safe areas, as Lebanon cannot bear more crimes. The crimes that occurred in the last three weeks could happen in any area of Lebanon within the 10,452 square kilometers, and from this standpoint, we requested him to implement those directives in all municipalities. As for the municipalities that do not wish to comply, he is capable of taking measures against them and can enlist the Internal Security Forces wherever a mayor wishes to implement but cannot."
In response to a question about the murder of Pascal Suleiman, Jaafar said: "For us, this crime is a political crime until proven otherwise. What is certain is that those who committed it are Syrians, and four of them are in the custody of the Lebanese Army. Regardless of this specific crime, these Syrians have been used as political tools or for theft, and their presence has become a major problem. Here, I would like to remind you that, according to the United Nations, Lebanon is not a country of asylum but a transit country, and moreover, our economy cannot withstand two million Syrian refugees."
