Lebanese Political Prisoners in Syria

Communique From SOLIDA
12 Dec 2002
Fifty-Fourth Year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Lebanese Political Prisoners in Syria
On the 54th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Lebanese MP Ms. Nayla Moawad questioned Parliament yesterday about
the fact that its Inquiry Commission, headed by Minister Fouad Es-
Saad and charged with investigating the fate of Lebanese political
detainees in Syria, had not yet issued any findings to the families
and relatives of the victims. Her remarks were met with the customary
bad faith of some Lebanese officials in what concerns this matter, as
one Minister and one MP vehemently denied even the existence of the
problem, even as Ms. Sonia Eid, President of the Association of
Families of Lebanese Prisoners Detained in Syria and whose own son
Jihad has been held in Syria since 1990, was present and spoke on the
issue at the session of Parliament.
For the Lebanese authorities, time seems to have become suspended in
June 2001 when President Bashar Al-Assad was on visit to France. He
then declared that there were no Lebanese prisoners in Syria. But the
Lebanese government ignored the remainder of the Syrian President's
statement, in which he welcomed any request submitted by the Lebanese
government on this matter, thus admitting half-heartedly the
persistence of the problem. Yet, things have dramatically changed
since June 2001, and the fact of Lebanese political prisoners held in
Syria is now officially recognized: -
On July 22, 2002, the Association of Families of Lebanese Prisoners
Detained in Syria met with the Syrian Minister of the Interior and
the Director of Syrian Jails, both of whom admitted that a number of
Lebanese citizens, specifically Lebanese military personnel, were
being held in Syrian jails.
- On November 9, 2002, the daily Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat published
comments made by Prosecutor General Adnane Addoum in which he
admitted the existence of 20 Lebanese political prisoners in Syria.
In addition to the evidence that the families of the detained have
gathered, substantial new information is continuously being collected
on specific cases in the form of testimonies and official documents.
SOLIDA wishes to reaffirm that the arbitrary detention of no less
than 200 Lebanese citizens in Syria is now an established fact that
requires no further proof. This matter has become a purely
humanitarian question that must be resolved strictly from its
humanitarian dimension by both the Lebanese and Syrian authorities.
SOLIDA hereby urges:
1. Syria to release without further delay all Lebanese citizens who
were kidnapped in Lebanon proper, and return to Lebanon the bodies of
those who died while in detention.
2. The Lebanese authorities to seek a humanitarian resolution to this
tragedy through an effective mechanism of negotiation with the Syrian
authorities, or alternatively to seek the mediation of an
international third party.
3. The European States, the European Parliament, and the United
Nations to pursue their efforts on behalf of the Lebanese political
prisoners who are arbitrarily being held in Syria, and of their
families who continue to suffer from a lack of closure on this
inhumane situation.