BEIRUT: Lebanese pilgrims held by
Syrian rebels strongly lashed out Tuesday at the Lebanese government, which
they said had neglected their case.
The pilgrims also urged the Future
Movement and the Zahle MP Oqab Saqr to work on securing their release. “My
message to the president, to the speaker, prime minister and the lowest ranking
MP is that we regret that we were the first people to elect them because
politicians here are like those in Syria, they forget people once they reach
power,” one of the kidnapped, Ali Abbas, told LBCI TV.
Some relatives of the pilgrims,
along with the LBCI crew, headed Tuesday to Turkey to see what progress has
been made in the case. LBCI’s website said that only reporters were able to
meet the captives.
The move comes after Abu Ibrahim,
the head of the captors, called on reporters Monday to meet the pilgrims in
Izaaz in Aleppo to relay the captors’ demands. A delegation from Al-Jadeed TV
also flew to Turkey to try to meet the kidnapped.
Sitting in a salon, the captives who
appeared in good health said they are being treated well by their abductors.
They also slammed the Lebanese state, which they said has neglected their case.
“I call on our relatives to ...
continue the road blocks, we are fed up [after] three months [in custody],”
said Abbas Hammoud, another captive.
Ali Abbas said that media reports
depicting the rebel Free Syrian Army as a group of terrorists committing
massacres were “deceiving.”
“In Syria, there are neither
terrorist nor mercenary groups,” he said. “On the contrary, there are people
who took to streets to demand freedom.
“We demand that before the [Lebanese
government] negotiates our release, let them recognize the FSA,” he said.
For his part, Abu Ibrahim called on
Lebanon to express its support for the Syrian revolution and urged the Lebanese
people “to speak the truth.”
Abbas Shoueib said his captors are
treating him well.
“We consider Abu Ibrahim like a
father; he used to take us to other places when shells target us,” he said.
Shoueib also urged Zahle MP Oqab
Saqr, from the Future Movement, to work on securing their release.
Earlier in Beirut, the families of
11 hostages staged a demonstration near the Turkish Embassy, aiming to pressure
Ankara to do more to secure the release of their loved ones.
A representative of the families
warned that Turkish nationals in Lebanon could face the same fate as the
Lebanese hostages if the country does not work to resolve the case.
About 60 family members and
supporters were flanked Sheikh Abbas Zogheib, who is tasked by the Higher
Shiite Council to follow up on the pilgrims’ case. He spoke to reporters near
the Turkish Embassy in Rabieh where police had tightened security.
“I want to say to the Turkish state
that the Lebanese people are also hospitable people,” Zogheib said. “We came to
them [to the Turkish Embassy] today in a peaceful act and if the issue is not resolved,
then they [the Turks] will be guests.”
The Syrian rebels who took the
Lebanese men have repeatedly insisted that the pilgrims are their “guests,” as
opposed to hostages.
“The message that the families of
the kidnapped want to convey to the Turkish Embassy is that Turkey is the state
that can pressure the so-called Syrian opposition to resolve this humanitarian
case,” Zogheib said.
“The Turks said ‘the issue is not in
our hands,’ but the source of the phone call [between the kidnapped and their
relatives Monday] is Turkey and what the kidnapped said yesterday [Monday]
confirms that they are under Turkish control,” he added. “Turkey is
responsible, they can’t deny this.”
The Shiite hostages were kidnapped
after crossing into Syria from Turkey on May 22 when returning from a
pilgrimage to Iran. Women and elderly men were allowed to leave.
Abu Ibrahim has said they don’t want
a ransom, but has demanded that the pilgrims’ release be negotiated with Saqr
or Brig. Wissam Hasan, the head of the Internal Security Forces Information
Branch.
Asked what the protesters are
planning, Zogheib said that the next step would be a protest near the Qatari
Embassy, adding that Qatar can play an effective role in securing the release
of the pilgrims.
“We cannot forget Qatar! How nice is
Qatar!” he said, tongue in cheek. Turkey and Qatar have thrown their support
behind the Syrian opposition.
Zogheib called on Foreign Minister
Adnan Mansour to summon Turkey’s Ambassador to Lebanon Inan Ozyildiz and hand
him a strongly worded letter over its handling of the case.
Meanwhile, the Airport Road was
reopened at dawn Monday after being blocked by families of the kidnapped in a
bid to pressure the Lebanese government to act. Speaking to The Daily Star,
Zogheib said that the option of reblocking the Airport Road or even closing the
airport should be taken seriously.
“If they [the state] continue not to deal with
the issue seriously, then a crisis will happen,” he said.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Aug-08/183829-abducted-lebanese-pilgrims-lash-out-at-beirut-government.ashx#axzz22xYTtmO5
No comments:
Post a Comment