The Daily Star - Politics - Syria cancels special border permits
MASNAA: Syria cancelled "special permits" used to ease border formalities with Lebanon, often granted as perks to its allies in its tiny neighbor, according to a security source at the border.
The annual permits were issued to Syrian and Lebanese politicians, security officials and businessmen - free of charge for some and costing up to about $2,000 for others.
The permits allowed holders to cross without customs or other formalities for both the vehicle and its passengers. All nationals of Syria and Lebanon are allowed visa-free visits to each other's countries.
The move comes as Syria speeds up its troop pullout from Lebanon after a 29-year deployment, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1559. Damascus has said its last soldiers - estimated at 4,000 - and intelligence agents will be out by April 30.
Syrian authorities scrapped the permits and closed the "military lane," a parallel route to the Beirut-Damascus highway, the source said at the Masnaa border post.
The system has been criticized for encouraging corruption.
1 comment:
Good! All that is left for them to do now is remove their 1 million plus leeches and squatters on the Lebanese economy, their security cockroaches imbedded throughout Lebanese society and institutions, establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon, and try, in a civilized way --though civility is too much to ask of Syrian louts-- to iron out differences with Lebanon.
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