Former premier Fouad
Saniora, head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, on Friday called on EU and
U.N. officials to condemn the Lebanese government “in the strongest terms” over
the recent deportation of 14 Syrians to their strife-torn country, voicing
concerns that the step might be repeated in the future and stressing that the
government will be held accountable.
Following separate talks
with EU Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon
Derek Plumbly, Saniora said: “Amid these circumstances, the timing of the
operation is very suspicious, and this could be a precedent made by the
Lebanese government following a request or pressures from the Syrian government
to hand over these people, and thus it might be the first move and other people
might be handed over.”
Lebanon deported 14
Syrians on Wednesday, drawing criticism from human rights activists. The Lebanese
authorities said the reasons for the expulsions were not political but a Human
Rights Watch representative in Beirut said some of the deportees had expressed
fears of persecution on their return.
Lebanon’s General
Directorate of General Security said that those deported were wanted for common
law, not political offences.
"These people were
handed over to the Syrian authorities because they had problems with the
judiciary and had committed crimes, and as far as we know they were not
political activists," a General Security official said. "If they
were, we would not have deported them," he added.
But Saniora called on
“the European Union’s officials and the U.N. secretary-general to address a
strong worded letter to the Lebanese government condemning in the strongest
terms the dangerous precedent it has committed in this regard, and asking it to
refrain from any similar move in the future.”
“We call on the U.N.
secretary-general to inquire about the fate of the 14 people,” Saniora added.
He recalled that “one
year ago, two Syrian people were handed over and summarily executed on the
border, and several other people were abducted and we don’t know anything about
their fate, such as former deputy Syrian PM Shebli al-Aysami and the Jassem
brothers.”
And as Saniora stressed
that the government will be held accountable for the step, he added: “We have
several accounts. We heard that the move happened following a request sent to
the General Security chief by the Syrian authorities, and we also heard that
the relevant (Lebanese) authorities were not aware of what happened, and then
the government covered the operation. This is all so suspicious.”
Saniora slammed the
deportation as “an ethical mistake against human rights and against all those
who signed (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) in this world.”
For his part, Plumbly
said after the meeting that the issue was being followed up with the relevant
Lebanese authorities, noting that the international community rejects deporting
any person to a place where his life could be at risk.
He noted that he would
inquire about the exact circumstances of the deportation.http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48817
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