Suleiman and Abbas review an honour guard at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, yesterday.
AFP/Beirut
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday said in Beirut that Palestinian refugees are not taking sides in the Syria war or involved in the spillover of the conflict in Lebanon.
“We are not a side in any conflict or struggle that is happening here (in Lebanon) or there (in Syria,” Abbas said at the start of a three-day visit to Lebanon.
Abbas made the remarks following talks with President Michel Suleiman about the living conditions in Lebanon of Palestinian refugees, whose ranks have swollen with the arrival of thousands of Palestinians from war-hit Syria.
“We hope that thousands of (Palestinian) refugees... in Syria and Lebanon... can be kept clear” of conflict and unrest, Abbas said.
“We reject any intervention in internal issues of any country, and we are in desperate need for everyone’s support and solidarity for our people, who are in search of freedom and independence.”
Suleiman said he and Abbas reaffirmed during their meeting the “importance” of ensuring that the Palestinians stay out of the Syria war and of Lebanon’s complex internal politics.
Abbas’ visit comes a week after a fierce battle pitting supporters of radical Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir against the Lebanese army raged in the southern city of Sidon, in which 18 troops were killed.
At the same time clashes broke out pitting the army against Islamist fighters on the edges of Ain al-Helweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon located in Sidon.
The violence was linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria, as Assir is a virulent critic of Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, a close ally of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
Lebanon is home to some 470,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 camps, most of which are overcrowded, the UN says.
An estimated 65,000 Palestinians refugees have fled to Lebanon since the conflict broke out in Syria in mid-March 2011.
Palestinians in Lebanon are barred from some 70 professions, and prohibited from owning property.
Last year, an NGO described living conditions of Palestinians in Lebanon’s camps as the “worst of the region”.
The American Near East Refugee Aid group cited discrimination, isolation, poverty, joblessness, poor housing and a lack of proper schools, clinics, hospitals and sewage systems as problems affecting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Syria opposition meeting in Istanbul in new bid to choose leader
Syria’s main political opposition will attempt to nominate a new leader to unify a fractured coalition when members reconvene in Istanbul today, an official said.
Frontrunners include the secretary general of the Syrian National Coalition Mustafa al-Sabbagh, and Ahmed Assi Jarba, representing the faction of veteran secular dissident Michel Kilo.
Recognised by dozens of states and organisations as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, the umbrella group is seeking a successor to interim president Georges Sabra, who may also seek nomination.
The opposition has been rudderless after the departure in May of Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib in protest at the world’s “inaction” over Syria’s civil war.
Coalition member Samir Nashar told AFP: “The names of Ahmed Assi Jarba, representing Michel Kilo’s faction, and Mustafa al-Sabbagh, representing the local councils, are being formally proposed as possible leaders for the coalition, but there could be surprises.
“Informally, the names of Burhan Ghalioun, Georges Sabra and Louay Safi are also being discussed. But of course we never know.
“If there is speedy agreement on the name of the new president, then I would still have some hope,” Nashar said yesterday.
“Of course the coalition’s last meeting was very difficult, and if things get blocked, then I think there will be some serious consequences that will affect both the coalition and the way it is perceived, both by its friends and its enemies.”
The nomination of a new chief had initially been mooted for the end of May but was postponed after eight days of talks stalled in the face of conflicting views on the future direction of the coalition.
The nomination of vice presidents and other senior leaders was also on the agenda at the opposition group’s general assembly, to be held over two days in the Turkish city.
The coalition will also likely discuss a future peace conference dubbed “Geneva 2” they have deliberated over attending, named after a meeting in the Swiss city a year ago that set up the transitional government but did not agree on the fate of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that the US and Russia were committed to holding a peace conference on Syria but that it would likely take place after August.