NNA – Member of the quot;Strong Republicquot; parliamentarynbsp;bloc, MP Ghassan Hasbani, said today: quot;We were not surprised by the European Union#39;s statement because we were aware of its issuance for some time.quot;
Speaking in an interview with quot;Radio Free Lebanonquot; this morning, Hasbani added: quot;What surprised us was the final vote on the clause that the Syrian refugees remain in Lebanon, because there are some parties that are not in line with us innbsp;regards to thenbsp;Syrian refugees issue, and they insisted on securing the vote for it. Therefore, the European People#39;s Party was unable to secure a majority to vote against this clause.quot;
Hasbaninbsp;pointed to the campaign thatnbsp;began in Lebanon a week before the vote on the issue, quot;as wrong and misleading words startednbsp;to leak in the media consideringnbsp;that the visit of the Lebanese parliamentary delegation to Germany was aimed at consolidating the presence of the displaced Syrians in Lebanon, at a time when the aim of our visit was completely different, for we were seeking to find safe ways that contribute to their return to their homes.quot;
Hasbani referred to the huge cost and burden that Lebanon has incurred due to thenbsp;Syrian displacement, especially under the current dire living circumstances. He stressed on seeking to find safe ways that contribute to their return to their homes, as the Syrian displacementnbsp;needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.
quot;We will continue with our partners in the European Union to clarify the picture and find solutions, and we have previously drawn up a road map and we#39;re working tonbsp;implement it and find a comprehensive solution to this issue,quot; he maintained.
Moreover, Hasbani highlighted somenbsp;positive partsnbsp;in the decision, saying:nbsp;quot;It is remarkable that there are names that were mentionednbsp;in terms of obstructing the presidential elections and justice…The issue of Hezbollah, its weapons, and its inclusion as a terrorist organization was dealt with in a very advanced language.quot;
Over approving the establishment of an international fact-finding commission regardingnbsp;the Beirut port blast, the MPnbsp;said: quot;This supports our recommendation to the Human Rights Committee, as wenbsp;have submitted petitions to the United Nations, one to the Secretary-General to reach the General Assembly and the other to the Human Rights Commission, which is the closest to completion because it deals with these matters and does not requirenbsp;an official request from the Lebanese state…quot;
Hasbani noted thatnbsp;a statement was issued at the previous meeting, urging officials and the Lebanese state to support the judiciary and free it from any interference to carry out its work as a first warning step.
He revealed that a meeting will take place upcomingnbsp;September which will benbsp;followed up with the families of the victims to try to extract a decision. However, he deemed that this step is notnbsp;easy since some of the participating countries may use the veto because they may not want to reveal the truth about what happened.nbsp;
nbsp;quot;The objective of the fact-finding committee is to uncover those who obstruct the judiciary and investigations, and to strengthen the Lebanese judiciary,rdquo; Hasbani underlined.
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