President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem al-Meslet, sent letters to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, President of the Security Council for the current session and French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere, and Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit regarding the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Al-Meslet pointed out that the suffering of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is increasing due to the control of the terrorist Hezbollah militia over various sectors and facilities in Lebanon, which openly declare loyalty to the Iranian mullahs’ regime. He said that their intervention on the side of the Assad regime against the Syrian people is mainly to blame for the displacement of Syrians from their homes to Lebanon and other countries.
Al-Meslet highlighted the suffering being endured by Syrian refugees in Lebanon, most notably the deteriorating security conditions and the repeated assaults that amounted to murder, in addition to the harsh living conditions, and the intervention of the Lebanese official authorities in the delivery of international aid to Syrian refugees.
He also spoke about the frequent statements by Lebanese politicians calling for the return of Syrian refugees, and the forced deportation of hundreds of refugees and their handing over to the Assad regime to meet an unknown fate. He called for urgent intervention, calling on the Lebanese official authorities to stop any plan to deport Syrian refugees and respect international laws on the protection of refugees and granting them their rights and the implementation of Lebanon’s obligations towards refugees in accordance with relevant international laws.
Moreover, Al-Meslet stressed the need to protect the Syrian refugees in Lebanon from the domination of the Hezbollah terrorist militia and its continuous violations against them, and to work by all possible means to stop incitement targeting the refugees, defuse the tensions between the brotherly Syrian and Lebanese peoples, and to confront all attempts that deliberately fuel hatred and racist practices between the two brotherly peoples.
He called on the Lebanese authorities to assume their responsibilities and hold the persons directly responsible for committing crimes against Syrian refugees accountable and to ensure that justice is achieved as a necessary step to put an end to crimes against Syrian refugees.
He also stressed the need to pay more attention to the conditions of Syrian refugees, provide them with the necessary, adequate assistance, ensure a fair retrial of Syrian prisoners in Lebanese prisons, secure legal, human rights and psychological support, and ensure the immediate release of all Syrian detainees in Lebanon who were imprisoned on false charges.
Al-Meslet also called for supporting all Arab and international efforts to achieve a political transition in Syria, stressing that a livable solution in Syria requires reaching a political solution through the full implementation of the Geneva Communiqué of 2012 and Security Council resolutions, especially resolutions 2118 and 2254 and United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/262.
(Source: SOC’s media department)
