Thursday, July 22, 2010

Lebanese closer to consensus on Palestinian refugees' rights

Elias Sakr and Agence France Presse (AFP)
Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Lebanese domestic debate over the extent of rights to be granted to Palestinian refugees seems to have settled on a basket of social and work rights that exclude property ownership, as Christian parties reached a compromise over the issue with the country’s major political groups.

Based on the proposal pitched by the March 14 alliance, the Lebanese state is to provide refugees with a work and residency permit exempted from fees allowing refugees the right to employment as well as the right to a passport in line with Lebanese laws.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=116973#ixzz0uQKeVldc
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
However, the Palestinian refugees’ right to free professions still remains governed by the separate legislations of various syndicates.

On the social security front, the proposal would mean the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) would continue to provide Palestinian refugees with medical and maternity care while the National Social Security Fund would cover the end of service indemnity and also family compensation.

The draft law, based on the March 14 proposal, is expected to be submitted Tuesday to Parliament’s office for discussion by the Justice and Administration parliamentary committee prior to the general assembly meeting on Thursday.

Meanwhile, discussions by Future Movement bloc leader, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora with Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel and Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a final understanding on the details of the proposal were still ongoing on Monday.

After talks with Gemayel at the Phalange Party’s headquarters Siniora said “Gemayel expressed a big readiness to cooperate and thus we discussed the best way to do it.”

Siniora added that Thursday’s session would be followed by other sessions to address concerns of all political parties.

Gemayel expressed fear of international pressure to resolve the issue in Lebanon in order to pave the way for peace in the region, a reference to Israeli rejection of granting the refugees the right of return as part of any Mideast peace resolution.

“There is pressing need to meet the humanitarian needs of Palestinians but the Phalange Party demands that all necessary steps to prevent the naturalization of refugees be taken which requires a Lebanese-international dialogue to guarantee that a resolution to the Palestinian cause does not come at Lebanon’s expense,” Gemayel said.

Christian parties including the LF, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Phalange Party have rejected an emergency draft law by MP Walid Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering bloc to grant Palestinian refugees civil rights equally to the Lebanese.

On Wednesday, Jumblatt said he would withdraw his bloc’s draft law if the one to be submitted by March 14 parties approves the Palestinian refugees’ right to property ownership.

Jumblatt also refused to link Palestinian refugees’ civil rights and the disarmament of Palestinian groups.

Lebanese rival leaders agreed during talks by the national dialogue committee in 2006 to disarm Palestinian factions outside refugee camps and organize weapons possessions inside them.

The Maronite Church, which voiced support to improve the Palestinian living conditions, said the Palestinians should assume their responsibilities toward the Lebanese state in return for rights, a reference to the state’s right to spread its authority over all territories including camps.

Around 50,0000 Palestinian refugees are registered in the Interior Ministry’s records and are allotted an annual budget of $70 million by UNRWA, head of he Justice and Administration parliamentary committee, Robert Ghanem, said Monday.

Ghanem made his statements following a meeting of the committee’s members along with director of UNRWA in Lebanon, Salvatore Lambardo. The meeting was attended by Labor Minister Butros Harb and Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar.

“There was a match between the numbers and statistics by the Lebanese refugees’ directorate, the General Security and UNRWA,” Ghanem said. – With AFP

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=116973#ixzz0uQKoGXkV
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Comment: After so many decades the "Palestinians" still are not granted basic human rights and by their own "People". Slightly slante do you not think?Yet the world's attention is upon Gaza

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