Introduction to the evening news 05-01-2013

It is as if Lebanon needed more divisions. The issue of displaced Syrians flocking to Lebanon came to add to the never-ending divisive issues in Lebanon. It is as though conflicts on the defense strategy, the electoral law, the ranks and salaries series, the budget, the electricity and many other issues were not enough for politicians.         

The strangest thing about this division is that the supporters of the displaced are exerting assiduous intellectual efforts to defend their proposal while the opponents of this case are in turn exerting assiduous intellectual efforts to defend their counter-proposal, thus turning this humanitarian case into a mental game.        

However, the biggest problem is that while those displaced are in real trouble, neither their supporters nor their opponents have offered them a safe haven. As for the government, how can it meet the needs of displaced Syrians when it cannot even fulfill the demands of the Lebanese?        

Everyone agrees that while the issue of displaced Syrians is purely a humanitarian case, it turned into a wave of bids, slogans and banners. Is this what the displaced needs? Do these Syrians need someone to monopolize their case and turn it into a tool to generate votes?         

This case is not a matter of support or refusal; it is the responsibility of the executive power which stalled until the case exploded on the cabinet table. Is it acceptable for this government to remain idle at a time when the number of displaced Syrians exceeded 200,000? This is the real case that must be dealt with instead of wasting time counting supporters and opponents. In this case, stances neither feed the displaced nor provide them with a safe haven.          

Despite its importance, the issue of displaced Syrians was not the only highlight of the day; it was surrounded by many other developments related to the Syrian crisis. As preparations kicked off for the deployment of Patriot missiles along the Turkish-Syrian border, the Iranian Foreign Minister announced that he will be visiting Cairo next Wednesday.          

Locally, the national dialogue session due Monday has been cancelled and no further date was fixed.               

All these developments and more in our detailed news bulletin.