By Jana El Hassan
BEIRUT: Justice Minister Shakib
Qortbawi said Wednesday that his ministry is finalizing the draft decree
establishing the Independent National Commission (INC) mandated with
investigating the fate of Lebanese missing persons.
“Hopefully, the draft will be ready
within the next few days [and I will] sign it and refer it to the Cabinet,”
Qortbawi told The Daily Star.
Qortbawi said that the INC’s members
are taking into consideration the observations of the State Shura Council, but
stressed that it will be an independent and non-governmental body. He added
that its members will include judges as well as representatives of the Red
Cross and the families of the missing.
“They will be tasked with gathering
information about the missing Lebanese,” said Qortbawi.
Commenting on the release of
Lebanese citizen Yaacoub Shamoun, who was released three months ago after
having been imprisoned in Syria for 27 years, the minister said that the
Lebanese Judicial Committee is following up on his case.
Shamoun’s release three months ago
has only recently been made public, with Shamoun having initially refused to
make his situation known for fear of being subjected to violence at the hands
of pro-Syrian elements.
Qortbawi said that the Committee
would want to hear from Shamoun whether he had come into contact with other
Lebanese detainees in the Syrian prisons in which he was incarcerated.
“We will meet with Shamoun Thursday
at 10:30 am at the Committee’s office in Beirut to hear about his imprisonment
in Syria,” Judge George Rizk, one of the Committee’s two members, told The
Daily Star.
Rizk also indicated that the
Committee is seeking to determine whether any other Lebanese prisoners are
detained in Syria.
According to Rizk, the Committee had
been working on the case with its counterpart, the Syrian Judicial Committee,
until the Syrian security situation deteriorated.
“We had a few names of missing
[Lebanese] possibly detained in Syria, but the Syrian side continued to deny
that it had any information on them,” said Rizk.
Ghazi Aad, founder and director of
SOLIDE (Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile), voiced optimism over
Qortbawi’s efforts, saying that establishing the INC is a very positive step
toward revealing the fate of the missing Lebanese.
“We have been calling for
establishing such a body for a long time, and we hope it will finally see the
light of day,” Aad told The Daily Star.
He added that Shamoun’s release
proves that reports denying the presence of Lebanese detainees in Syrian
prisons are wrong.
“I met with Shamoun and talked to
him. He mentioned five detainees we didn’t have in our six-hundred missing
persons list, which means there might be even more Lebanese in Syrian jails,”
Aad said.
Shamoun also met with Metn MP and
Kataeb party member Sami Gemayel in Bikfaya, Mount Lebanon, Wednesday
afternoon, according to the National News Agency. Gemayel praised Shamoun and
presented him with an award for his many sacrifices.
For his part, Shamoun said, "I
am happy to return to my house and to the house of the Kataeb," and
thanked those in attendance for the appreciation and affection they showed him.
Shamoun release has given hope to
the relatives of hundreds of other Lebanese who were kidnapped during the
1975-90 Civil War.
The Syrian regime has long denied holding
Lebanese prisoners of conscience, only to release a trickle every so often.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-29/186060-renewed-efforts-to-free-lebanese-jailed-in-syria-following-detainees-release.ashx#axzz253nNLWTE
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