BEIRUT: Lebanese officials scrambled Friday to address the fallout of a decision by the United Arab Emirates to deport around 70 Lebanese citizens with their families Friday, the third such move by a Gulf nation in the past six years.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam, currently attending a conference in Egypt, said the decision was part of a series of security measures taken by the UAE, and that he was taking steps to resolve the issue, according to local media reports.
Salam added that he would raise the issue with Emirati officials on the sidelines of the conference.
The UAE, which plays host to around 100,000 Lebanese, did not officially comment on the matter.
Most of the Lebanese facing deportation are Shiites.
In 2009, dozens of Lebanese Shiites who had lived in the UAE for years were expelled on suspicion of links with Hezbollah.
In 2013, Qatar also expelled 18 Lebanese citizens, after the Gulf Cooperation Council imposed sanctions against Hezbollah for its military intervention in the Syrian war.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has been at odds with the Gulf states, particularly over the 4-year-old crisis in Syria.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil Friday confirmed reports that the UAE had decided to deport the Lebanese individuals, adding that he had contacted his Emirati counterpart in a bid to resolve the matter.
“We have been informed by the Lebanese Embassy in Dubai that [UAE] authorities [have] decided to deport 70 Lebanese in the next 24 hours,” Bassil wrote in a tweet.
Later, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Bassil had contacted the UAE’s foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and other relevant parties in an attempt to resolve the issue, and had briefed Salam on the discussions. The ministry said Bassil spoke on the issue during Thursday’s Cabinet session, sharing the information he had received on the matter.The statement also said that the Foreign Ministry had tried to improve ties between Lebanon and the UAE, as evidenced by the recent reappointment of a Lebanese ambassador to the nation and bilateral discussions on consular, diplomatic and political problems.
“[The ministry believes] that Lebanese expats in the UAE are fully integrating into the UAE’s society and adhering to UAE rules, and are a factor in the prosperity of this dear country,” the statement read.
The ministry added that any act by a Lebanese individual or a limited number of Lebanese which did not reflect this image should not affect the situation of the entire expat community.
Hasan Alayan, the head of a committee representing Lebanese nationals who have been expelled from the UAE in recent years, told The Daily Star that he was in contact with expats affected by the new decision.
Alayan related that the Lebanese had been asked Thursday to head to the visa office in their respective cities where officials informed them of their expulsion but refused to disclose the reason for the decision. “They would say they don’t have the authority to discuss the issue,” Alayan said. Officials proceeded to inform them that they had 24 to 48 hours to settle their affairs.
One Lebanese man, who was asked to leave Thursday, said he and his family would fly out of the emirate of Sharjah Sunday, according to Alayan.
The man, who refused to disclose his name for fear of UAE reprisals, said he was given only two days to settle his affairs, and was provided with no explanation for his deportation.
According to Alayan, the expulsions deliberately target Shiites, in an attempt to put pressure on Hezbollah. Alayan was expelled from the UAE in 2009, and said Thursday’s decision was just the latest episode in an ongoing policy of discrimination against Lebanese Shiites in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment