Geagea: It's About Time Refugees Returned to Syria, Govt. Must be More Active

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday said that “it's about time refugees returned to Syria,” warning that “their crisis could lead to dire consequences.”

“Military operations in Syria might stop within a few months and there are fears that the terrorist organizations, as well as the regime, could seek to recruit some of the refugees,” Geagea said in a chat with a number of reporters.

“After several years of residency, some refugees have started to act as if they own the place,” the LF leader warned, while rejecting any communication with the Syrian regime over the issue of returning the refugees to their country.

“The Lebanese government should demand the return of the refugees to safe zones if their villages are not safe at the moment,” Geagea added, stressing that “this is a sovereign Lebanese decision” and suggesting that the government should coordinate with the international community in this regard.

Turning to the government's performance, Geagea expressed his “full satisfaction” with the conduct of the LF's ministers – Ghassan Hasbani, Pierre Bou Assi and Melhem Riachi.

Asked about the ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement and al-Mustaqbal Movement, the LF leader said: “We would have preferred the government to be more active.”

As for his “evaluation” of the new presidential tenure, Geagea said: “Not bad.”

“I was hoping for bigger achievements but had the president not been Michel Aoun, the electoral law would not have been passed,” the LF leader went on to say.