Dear Mr. Minister,
In reply to your comments on the issue of the Lebanese detainees and missing in Syria, as reported by Mr. Ali Khalil in the July 5, 2003 issue of the daily An-Nahar, we feel compelled to share our thoughts with you.
You said you regretted "the attempt by some to try and tarnish Syria's image (…)". Yet, the organization SOLIDA (Support for Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily) continues to pursue a number of detention cases in Syria that constitute flagrant violations of Human Rights (kidnappings, illegal extraditions, secret detentions, etc.). These practices themselves are what tarnishes the image of Syria, and not the actions of those who denounce them.
You go on to add "A commission was created in Lebanon under the presidency of Fouad Saad with the task of examining the issue. If there were any Lebanese who disappeared in Lebanon during the events, why are some trying to insinuate that these individuals are in Syrian prisons?"
The sad fact is that this so-called commission has not issued any public report since its inception. However, one member of the commission declared to the press one year ago that the commission had examined 96 files of Lebanese detainees in Syria. Those are not insinuations. Moreover, we fully know that Syria could not be held responsible for the thousands of disappearances that took place on Lebanese soil, since both the Lebanese militias and Israel are even more to blame on this issue. Still, we have well-documented cases of Lebanese nationals who are today in detention inside Syria and who were abducted by the Syrian Army or handed over by Lebanese militias to the Syrian Army. In addition, dozens of Lebanese individuals disappeared in areas under Syrian control in Lebanon after the dismantling of the militias, and were later found in the prisons of your country. Only a fraction of these individuals were set free during subsequent waves of releases.
We draw your attention to the case of George Chalaweet who is detained in Syria since 1994 and who remains in secret detention since 1998. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared his detention illegal.
You also say "I received a delegation of SOLIDA and the parents of a few missing individuals, and the mother of one of them, Sonia Eid, informed me that she had visited her son in one of the Syrian prisons. I pledged to the delegation that we will investigate and that I will handle this matter which should be discussed between the Lebanese and Syrian governments."
In July 2002, SOLIDA did not participate to your meeting with the families of the detained. SOLIDA had deliberately made this decision in order to encourage an open discussion and to give you a guarantee of confidentiality, if deemed necessary. The families of the missing left the meeting very hopeful, convinced that after hearing of their pain, you would have no choice but to help them in their search for their loved ones. To date, you have provided the families with not one of the answers you promised to give them within 2-3 months of the meeting. You even turned them back in November 2002 after they had previously asked and obtained an appointment with you.
We are nevertheless happy to note that you recalled the case of Jihad Eid, Mrs. Sonia Eid's son, whose detention in Syria no longer needs proof, and who from the start of his detention had been referred to Examining Judge Ahmad An Naassan. A former detainee has even testified to Mr. Saad's commission that he was detained with him.
We are even more surprised that you felt this question ought to be discussed between the Lebanese and Syrian governments because this is in sharp contrast to statements made by the Syrian Prime Minister and reported on June 15, 2003 by the European Parliament Member Mr. Sami Naïr. Those statements are to the effect that there is a possible recourse with President Assad, "who, if approached by the families and the organizations, can exercise his privilege of pardon."
Then you expressed "your surprise that a delegation of SOLIDA would come two weeks ago to meet with President Assad and other officials with an appointment." We insist on clarifying that when SOLIDA, the organization SOLIDE (Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile), and the Committee of the Families of Lebanese Detainees in Syria entered Syria on June 9, 2003, they had previously requested an appointment with President Bachar Assad, and that request has yet to be answered in spite of our persistence.
Mr. Minister,
The secret detention of Lebanese nationals in Syria can no longer be denied, nor can its illegal nature. The unknown here is the charges held against them, and only the Syrian authorities know those charges. It is time, in the interests of the detainees and their families, as well as in the interests of Syria, to put an end to the taboo surrounding this question. It is time to turn a new leaf and agree to the demands of the families of the Lebanese detainees and missing in Syria.