Other reasons for Parliamentary delay?
Some Parliament watchers speculate that certain members seek to delay granting Palestinians civil rights until the Special Tribunal for Lebanon hands down expected indictments, concerning the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. They calculate the STL announcements will dramatically increase Lebanese-Palestinian tensions. Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun (Free Patriotic Movement leader), no advocate of any meaningful civil rights for Palestinians, is warning of a US "green lighted' Israeli invasion of Lebanon if the STL indicts "uncontrolled" Hezbollah members. Others claim the main problem is that Lebanon cannot move beyond the 1975-1990 Civil War and raising in Parliament the subject of Palestinians brings up also many painful memories that most of the confessions wish to forget.
While some political analysts in Lebanon think there is a chance that Parliament may well ease the restrictions on the right to work, there is still strong opposition to granting Palestinian refugees the internationally recognized right to own real property or even a single home--an international right allowed in all other countries. As a scare tactic on this issue the specter of "Naturalization' is again raised even though it has nothing to do with home ownership.
If Israelis can buy homes in Lebanon why not Palestinian refugees?
There is no shortage of Lebanese politicians who will explain why Palestinian home ownership is out of the question, including the claim that there is simply not enough land in crowded Lebanon for foreigners to be allowed to purchase any. Kataeb-Phalange bloc MP Elie Marouni told his followers on Bastille Day last week "that the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon will never be naturalized as long as there are Christian believers who will sacrifice themselves for the sake of Lebanon. We don't have the space." His colleague and Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel warned the day before that "granting Palestinians the right to own property would lead to their naturalization."
Neither of these leaders, has explained why during the half century (1948-2001) when Palestinian refugees were allowed to own property the question of "naturalization" was never an issue. There was no problem. The fact is that the assertion that "naturalization' would be the result of a refugee family owning a home is false and it is was invented solely for the reason that it provides "raw meat' for detractors who basically don't want any rights for any Palestinians no matter what the facts are.
According to Lebanese Human Rights Ambassador Ali Khalil: "Fanning the coals of "naturalization' is a recent bogeyman meant to scare Christians who already are nervous because their numbers continue to shrink. Generally more affluent than other sects, they are able to leave Lebanon for better prospects. If Palestinians were able to work and became a bit more affluent many of them would leave also but that fact appears lost on those who prefer to keep them in squalid camps in Lebanon rather than allowing them to work and perhaps move out of Lebanon."
The "not enough land for foreigners" claim is faulty on two grounds. Regarding population density, in Saida's Ein el Helwe Camp, the largest of the 12 in Lebanon, approximately 90,000 refugees are tightly packed into less than 1 km sq. area whereas the average Lebanese population density is close to 350 persons per sq, km.
Foreigners buy as much land in Lebanon as they wish and can afford despite the "legal' limitations for foreigners of 3,000 sq. meters in Beirut and 5000 sq. meters outside Beirut. Foreigners regularly ignore the "law" and sometimes pay bribes to purchase whatever land they want and sometimes even citizenship.
Free
Patriotic Movement leader and Hezbollah ally MP Michel Aoun is calling for a new law to reclaim property
from foreign owners in response to complaints about his voicing strong objection to granting Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon the right to own property.
"We can't issue a law that gives the Palestinians the right to own
property, but we can issue a law to reclaim properties owned by foreigners,"
Aoun said with a straight face, adding that
"Christian parties didn't act with prejudice when the issue of
civil rights for Palestinian refugees
was raised. "Our stance is similar to that of the Phalange Party and the draft
law would only be put to the vote of the parliament after being studied,"
Aoun added. Some in Lebanon are waiting to see if General Aoun's "No buying a little bit of Lebanon" law gets
introduced in Parliament and what the US Congress and Arab league reaction will
be if it does.
BayIt BeyLebnan? (Hebrew for "your home in Lebanon?')
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