President Michel Aoun Saturday requested that anyone with evidence of the ineligibility of members of a list of people to be granted Lebanese citizenship bring the information to General Security.
Local media reported that Aoun met with General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim Saturday to discuss the controversial decree that would naturalize 375 people.
The act was signed within the past month by President Michel Aoun, caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and caretaker Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, but news of its passage only surfaced this week.
While not a violation of the Constitution, the manner of the decree’s passage and its timing have raised hackles across the country.
Naturalization has been a controversial topic since the outbreak of the 1975-90 Civil War, mainly due to its implication on the country’s sectarian balance. Of the 375 names on the latest decree, 260 were Christian and 115 were Muslim. It has also been reported that some of those on the list paid large sums of money to be included.
Parliamentary sources told The Daily Star that the announcement comes ahead of the likely removal of a number of names. “During the meeting between Aoun and Ibrahim, it was agreed to revise the [decree] and to present the citizenship only to those who deserve it,” one parliamentary source said.
The sources added that the announcement may even pave the way to rescinding the decree, as some of those slated for naturalization had not been vetted by General Security.
Issues like this are traditionally agreed upon between politicians if, and only if, there is a balance between sects. But a political source previously told The Daily Star that this naturalization decree would be followed by other similar decrees during Aoun’s tenure. While it is not uncommon for outgoing presidents to sign naturalization decrees, Aoun diverged by doing so halfway through his second year.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
