BEIRUT: Former president and head of the Kataeb Party Amin Gemayel Friday called for stricter measures to police Syrian refugees in Lebanon before the security situation worsens.
Recalling the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War and the “supposedly temporary” presence of Palestinian refugees, Gemayel said that authorities must immediately confront the Syian refugee crisis “before it is too late.”
Addressing a crowd of mayors, mukhtars and other local government officials at a conference organized by the Kataeb, and titled “Municipalities are the guarantors of stability,” Gemayel insisted that local authorities played a crucial role in preserving the security of Lebanese.
The conference was sponsored by Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk.
Gemayel urged mayors the recruit more municipal police “in order to support the Army and ISF, and allow them to dedicate more time to their defense missions.”
In this vein, the ex-president called for the creation of a “crisis group” that joins different municipalities to coordinate over policies towards Syrian refugees.
Nearly 1.2 million Syrians displaced by the three and a half year war have registered with the UN refugee agency in Lebanon. The actual number is thought to be significantly higher.
Gemayel also called on municipal authorities to keep close records on Syrian refugees, organize their residence and document any “suspicious movements.”
He stressed on “differentiating between the refugee and the migrant worker.”
He also accused some humanitarian organizations of “violating the state’s security,” by providing refugees with resources without coordinating with government officials.
“Some [NGOs] are acting as if they were working in areas with no state sovereignty which comes at the expense of the local administrations.”
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