Title:Lebanon foreign minister escalates refugee row with UN agency

BEIRUT: Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister escalated his row with the UN refugee agency UNHCR on Wednesday, accusing it at a news conference of working to stop refugees from returning to Syria.

贝鲁特：周三，黎巴嫩看守外交大臣与联合国难民机构难民署对黎巴嫩的斗争升级，指责它在记者会上努力阻止难民返回叙利亚。

UNHCR has denied the accusation, saying it supports the return of refugees when it is safe for them to go back to Syria and helps those who choose to return with their documentation.

难民署否认了这一指控，称难民署支持难民返回叙利亚，帮助那些选择返回证件的人回国是安全的。

"Their policy is to forbid the return,"  Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said.  "The Lebanese policy is to encourage the return. Forbid, encourage. Stop, facilitate. That's it,"  Bassil said during the news conference in the town of Arsal, where he spoke alongside Syrian refugees.

“他们的政策是禁止返回，”外交部长格布拉·巴希尔说，“黎巴嫩的政策是鼓励返回。，就是这样，”巴希尔在Arsal镇的新闻发布会上说，他与叙利亚难民一道说。

"UNHCR does not forbid refugees from returning,"  Rula Amin, UNHCR's MENA region spokesperson sad in emailed comments to Reuters.  "UNHCR's policy is clear on this matter: we respect people's free choices to return."

"难民署并不禁止难民返回，" 难民署中东和北非地区发言人鲁拉·阿明"在给路透社的电邮评论中悲伤地说，"难民署的政策在这一问题上十分明确：我们尊重人民自由选择返回"。

"UNHCR is not the obstacle to the return, the obstacles lay elsewhere and in the complex situation on the ground,"  Amin said, adding that the UNHCR recognizes the challenges Lebanon faces in hosting Syrian refugees.

阿明说，"难民署不是返回的障碍。"难民署还承认，黎巴嫩在接纳叙利亚难民方面面临挑战。

The UN has registered about a million refugees in Lebanon — nearly a quarter of Lebanon's population. The Lebanese government, which puts the figure at 1.5 million, says it wants them to start going back to territory where fighting is over.

联合国已在黎巴嫩登记了大约100万名难民，占黎巴嫩总人口的近四分之一。

Bassil said on Wednesday the burden of hosting Syrian refugees seven years into the conflict that drove them to flee had grown  "unbearable,"  blaming the crisis for the collapse of the economy and emigration of Lebanese citizens.

巴希尔星期三说，接纳叙利亚难民7年的负担"无法承受"，将危机归咎于经济崩溃和黎巴嫩公民移民。

Last week, Bassil ordered a freeze on applications by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for residency permits for its staff, saying it was intimidating refugees into staying in Lebanon.

上周，Bassil命令冻结联合国难民事务高级专员(难民署)为其工作人员发放居留证的申请，称正在恐吓难民留在黎巴嫩。

Some 19 UNHCR staff members are affected by the Lebanese residency permit freeze, UNHCR Lebanon representative, Mireille Girard, told Reuters on Tuesday, and the agency's spokesman in Geneva said it hopes the decision will be reversed.

难民署黎巴嫩代表吉拉尔德星期二对路透社说，难民署约19名工作人员受到黎巴嫩居留证冻结的影响。

Bassil accuses UNHCR of discouraging refugees from going home by asking them questions about potential difficulties they face upon return, including possible military conscription, damage to housing and lack of UN support in parts of Syria.

巴希尔指责难民署阻止难民返回家园，向他们询问他们在返回时面临的潜在困难，包括可能征兵的情况、住房受到破坏以及叙利亚部分地区缺乏联合国的支持。

"I don't want to have disputes with them, but it's time to tell them enough,"  he said.

“我不想和他们发生争执，但现在应该告诉他们了，”他说。

The UNHCR favors the return of all refugees when it is safe for them to go home and speaks to refugees in all countries when they are preparing to return home to make sure it can give them enough support and protection, Girard said.

吉拉尔德说，难民署支持所有难民在安全返回家园，并在各国难民准备返回家园时向他们说话，以确保他们能够得到足够的支持和保护。

Another senior UN official, the deputy special coordinator for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini, was quoted late on Tuesday as saying it would be  "inconceivable"  for the body to oppose refugees who wanted to go home.

另一位联合国高级官员，黎巴嫩问题特别协调员菲利普·拉苏里尼周二晚间被引述，称该机构反对想回家的难民是“不可思议”的。

"We respect refugees' individual decision to return home and would never, never discourage the return from taking place based on their decision,"  Prime Minister designate Saad Al-Hariri's office quoted Lazzarini as saying during a meeting.

“我们尊重难民个人返回家园的决定，决不会阻止根据其决定返回家园的行为，”总理萨阿德·哈里里办公室援引拉苏里尼在一次会议上的讲话。

Lebanon's government is operating on a caretaker basis because Hariri has not yet formed a new cabinet after parliamentary elections on May 6.

黎巴嫩政府正在看守的基础上运作，因为5月6日议会选举之后，哈里里还没有组成新的内阁。