Kataeb Leader Samy Gemayel blamed the Lebanese State for not taking any steps to contribute to the rights of detained and forcibly disappeared persons in Syrian prisons, believing that the House Speaker, the Prime Minister and other officials are directly responsible for demanding the rights of the Lebanese. Gemayel’s words came after his meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese Association of Detained and Forcibly Disappeared Persons in Syrian Prisons. The meeting was chaired by the Head of the Association Ali Abu Dihn and attended by Kataeb Political Bureau Members Lina Jalkh and Ghassan Abu Jaoudeh. The Association asked the Kataeb Party to sign a draft resolution that will be submitted to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to amend the UN resolution on the establishment of an independent institution to deal with the issue of detained and forcibly disappeared persons in Syrian prisons. The amendment requested by the association includes the issue of all the detained and forcibly disappeared persons of all nationalities since before 2011, allowing Lebanese detainees and missing persons in Syrian prisons to be included in the resolution. Gemayel said that the Kataeb Party has been a long-time supporter of the issue of detained and forcibly disappeared persons in Syrian prisons. ‘We also remember our comrades who have disappeared, including Kataeb’s Political Bureau Member Boutros Khawand. It is shameful that Lebanon has abandoned the issue of detained and forcibly disappeared persons in Syrian prisons,’ he pointed out. Gemayel deemed UN resolution an opportunity to seek truth and justice for Lebanese detainees. — Kataeb.org
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon