Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s suggestion that Lebanon should facilitate the migration of Syrian refugees by sea to Europe has sparked a heated debate in the country given the dangerous implications it may have.
Millions of Syrians have fled abroad since their country's war broke out in 2011 following the government's repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests. Many have crossed the border into Lebanon, which the United Nations says hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world.
Lebanon, which has been mired in a crippling economic crisis for more than three years, says it hosts nearly two million Syrians. The United Nation has registered almost 830,000 of them.
Anti-Syrian sentiment has soared in recent months as some officials have sought to blame refugees for the country's woes.
After welcoming hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the early years of the conflict, Lebanon banned them from entry in 2015. Since then, many Syrians have used smugglers to cross the border and seek other opportunities in Lebanon or beyond.
Lebanon's own economic collapse has also turned it into a launchpad for would-be migrants, with Lebanese joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees clamoring to leave via dangerous sea routes across the Mediterranean.
Earlier this week, Nasrallah said: “Why stop them [from getting on boats]? When you stop them, they resort to smugglers and have to travel on board these rubber boats. We learn of a new catastrophe at sea every couple of days.”
“Let them travel on ships, not just rubber boats. Syrian refugees must have the opportunity to ride a ship and head to Europe,” he added.
Should the authorities adopt the idea, “it will lead to an inevitable conclusion: The European countries will succumb and come to Beirut and the government to ask the Lebanese what they want in return for ending the migration to Europe,” he explained.
Nasrallah’s suggestion, which may have been intended to unite the Lebanese over the issue, sparked intense criticism among political and legal circles over its possible economic and political implications on Beirut.
Lebanese Forces MP Ghayath Yazbeck slammed Nasrallah’s “reckless and militia behavior.” He said his remarks are aimed at pressuring the caretaker government to in turn pressure the international community to lift the siege on the Syrian regime - Hezbollah’s ally – and kick off the war-torn country’s reconstruction.
Yazbeck told Asharq Al-Awsat that the refugee file is a “massive and deadly burden” on Lebanon and its demographics.
Hezbollah’s demand for unity over some issues is good, but that does not absolve Nasrallah of his partnership with the regime that has caused this migration, he added.
The party controls the Lebanese regions that border Syria and so, it must pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his army to stem the flow of refugees because quite simply, this task is beyond the Lebanese army, he continued.
Moreover, he said the caretaker government is also responsible for this file because it is comprised of forces that are loyal to Hezbollah, which is also part of the cabinet.
So, Nasrallah is “60 percent responsible for this crisis and his statements are useless,” concluded Yazbeck.
“The only remarks we will accept are his call for national unity as his assessment of the situation is unrealistic,” he noted.
“We are not vindicating the international community of the situation we have reached, but suggesting that refugees should be sent to Europe is the talk of militias and rogue states,” the MP said.
“This is the source of our objections to Assad’s behavior and Lebanon cannot tolerate the consequences of such a decision. Rather, diplomatic and political pressure needs to be applied on the United Nations and international community to help us reach a solution and this is what the LF is doing,” he stated.
On the legal level, Dr. Paul Morcos, founder and manager of JUSTICIABeirutConsult, warned that Nasrallah’s suggestion, if implemented, could force the international community to impose an economic and diplomatic boycott of Lebanon.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that should Lebanon allow the refugees to head to Europe by sea, the European countries, specifically those on the Mediterranean, could approach the issue from a diplomatic and political angle.
They may take a more severe approach and impose trade and financial restrictions on Beirut, summon their ambassadors from Lebanon and possibly even sever diplomatic relations, effectively boycotting the country, he went on to say.
A third option would be for Europe to turn to the UN Security Council to issue a resolution under Chapter 7 that would allow an economic siege of Lebanon and possible even military action against it, he warned.
Morcos speculated that the Europeans may resort to the first option that would not lead to a boycott with Lebanon. Perhaps this will prompt Lebanese authorities to take serious action to return the refugees back to their home.
