The Council of Europe asked Cyprus to investigate information on Forced return of migrants They tried to get out of Lebanon To the Mediterranean island last September, while Nicosia confirmed that it respected international law.
Dunia Mijatovic, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote to Cypriot Interior Minister Nikos Norris in a letter published on Thursday (18 March 2021): “I call on the Cypriot authorities to carry out independent and meaningful investigations” into this issue.
In the letter, Mijatovi said that he had received information that “ships carrying migrants, including people likely in need of international protection, were unable to disembark in Cyprus and returned arbitrarily and sometimes violently.” respected ”even at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a message published by the Council of Europe, the Cypriot minister responded on March 16 saying that Nicosia respected international and European law.
“The Cypriot authorities prevented the illegal entry of Lebanese immigrants who were not seeking international protection and were able to return them safely to Lebanon,” Norris wrote, referring to an agreement with the Lebanese authorities that was reached last September.
He added that 24 Lebanese seeking international protection were able to dock in Cyprus, but another 210 Lebanese were spotted at sea and returned to their country.
Lebanon, located 160 kilometers from Cyprus, is experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis. The situation in the country worsened after the bloody explosion in the port of Beirut in August.
Since the closure of the so-called “Balkan” migration route between Turkey and Europe in 2015, it has increased Asylum applications in Cyprus From 2,253 in that year to 13,648 in 2019, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
AFP / AIG (AFP)
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a country on the brink of collapse
Sedition of Mount Lebanon
Various sects resided in the areas known today as Lebanon, especially in the Mount Lebanon region. But the most prominent sects were six: Maronites, Orthodox and Catholics, and on the other side the Druze, Sunnis and Shiites. The mountain remained under the control of the Ottomans, but witnessed serious sectarian tensions, especially the massacres between the Druze and Maronites in 1860. European powers intervened in the region, especially France, and Mount Lebanon, under European pressure, was witness of the establishment. of the “mutasarrifiyya” system, which reinforced the Maronite presence.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a state on the brink of collapse
The rise of Greater Lebanon
After the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, France was able to impose its mandate on Lebanon after expanding it to include Bekaa and Beirut, as well as demarking the borders with Syria. Joseph Bahout says in an article on Carnegie that France aimed to create a quasi-national home for Christians in the Middle East, but Muslim sects vehemently rejected the new situation. Lebanon declared its independence in 1943 at the hands of President Bechara El-Khoury, but the evacuation of French forces did not occur until 1946.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a state on the brink of collapse
The National Pact
Lebanon’s declaration of independence witnessed what is known as the National Pact, which gave the presidency of the state to the Maronites, the post of prime minister to the Sunnis, and the presidency of the House of Representatives to the Shiites. The purpose of the letter was to facilitate independence so that Christians did not demand the protection of France and Muslims did not demand unity with Syria. The letter was not drafted, but it has been in effect in the country ever since, and observers believe it caused the sectarian problems in the country, as it was the basis of the quota system.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a country on the brink of collapse
Ending Shamon’s rule
Beirut has become a city that unites everyone since the years of independence, but the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli conflict cast a shadow over a country struggling to create its identity. Beirut welcomed thousands of Palestinian refugees, as well as Arab immigrants, and witnessed economic growth, but at the same time, warring Arab powers have focused their influence on the city ever since. However, the most prominent event that Beirut witnessed in the 1950s was the uprising against President Camille Chamoun, who had strong ties to the West.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a state on the brink of collapse
The Shehab era
Among Lebanon’s most respected presidents is Fouad Chehab, who ruled the country from 1958 to 1964 and rejected an extension despite his overwhelming popularity. During Shehab’s reign, much stability was achieved in the country, despite criticism directed at him by strengthening the role of the intelligence services after the coup attempt. Then came Charles Helou, who tried to follow Shehabi’s approach by not preferring any political party over another, but the country witnessed various economic problems during his reign, which paved the door for Suleiman Franjieh to succeed him.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a state on the brink of collapse
Civil war breaks out
Lebanon witnessed the signing of the Cairo Agreement in 1969 between the Palestinian factions in the refugee camps and the Lebanese state so as not to repeat skirmishes between the two parties, according to which the Palestinian armed presence in Lebanon was recognized. The Lebanese left supported the Palestinians, while the right, which was made up mainly of Maronite organizations, rejected them. With the rise of Palestinian influence, frictions with the right-wing forces multiplied and civil war officially broke out in April 1975.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a state on the brink of collapse
Beirut is on fire
Beirut was divided into the east, under the control of the right-wing forces, and the west by the Palestinian and left-wing forces. The sectarian rivalry between Muslims and Christians increased the war, especially with the social imbalances between them. The Syrian intervention increased the price of the war, as did Israel when it invaded Lebanon in 1982 and besieged western Beirut, prompting the evacuation of Palestinian militants, but the war did not end, and after that, there were clashes even within the parties that were allied.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a state on the brink of collapse
Hezbollah is victorious
The war officially ended in 1991, two years after the signing of the Taif Agreement. The war saw horrible massacres such as those of Karantina, Damour, Sabra and Shatila, and the cameras documented horrible scenes such as the siege of Beirut and the war in the countryside. Later, the Shiite organizations were strengthened, especially Hezbollah, which is linked to Iran, and the organization remained in possession of its weapons after the dissolution of all the militias, so the influence of the armed organizations of the right, left and Palestinian declined. . , and Syria ensured its continued presence in the country.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a country on the brink of collapse
The murders continue
Lebanon was relatively stable in the 1990s, but the millennium years saw armed clashes between Hezbollah and Israel in the summer of 2006, but the most violent earthquake was the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister who contributed to the reconstruction of Lebanon. One of the results of the assassination was the departure of Syrian forces as a result of what became known as the “Cedar Revolution”. In those years, the country witnessed the continuation of political assassinations in which accusations were brought against Damascus, such as the murder of communist George Hawi and journalist Samir Kassir.
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Lebanon turns 100 … from mountain sects to a state on the brink of collapse
The Lebanon movement
For the first time in the history of the country, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese will come out in 2019 to reject the sectarian quota system, demanding the departure of the political class as a whole. The protests came in light of the continuing deterioration of the economic situation and high rates of corruption, which led to the resignation of the Saad Hariri government and the formation of the Hassan Diab government, which in turn resigned following the bomb attack. in the port of Beirut, which killed almost two hundred people. Report: Ismail Azzam
Writer: Ismail Azzam
