Head of the Change Movement, Attorney Elie Mahfoud, held a press conference on Saturday, in the presence of a representative of the “Lebanese Association for Abductees Released from Syrian Prisons”, Elias Tanios. Mahfoud said, in response to Lebanon’s position regarding its abstention from voting to establish an independent commission to investigate the missing: “The establishment of an independent institution by the United Nations in order to clarify the fate of tens of thousands of missing persons in Syria over the past 12 years is an excellent step, especially since we are concerned with the issue of kidnapping and disappearance with the Syrian regime. He added, “We have been provoked by the position of the Lebanese Foreign Minister, who announced the abstention along with a number of Arab countries from voting in favor of a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that stipulates the establishment of an independent commission to find out the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared persons in Syria.” He continued, “The issue is moral before anything else, and the issue is humanitarian before any political considerations.” “The importance of the decision is that it is not confined to the years of the Syrian war only, but includes long periods, and this is what will affect Lebanon directly, and despite the fact that the aforementioned decision avoided entering into political divisions and was keen to present the project in a form that does not show its targeting of the Syrian regime, yet the position of the Assad regime is clear, as this regime views this decision as an attempt to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs,” Mahfoud went on. He regretted that the caretaker government took sides and chose Assad, saying, “Between the interest of Lebanon or the arrangement of the relationship with Assad, it was clear that it took sides and chose Assad, who is still kidnapping hundreds of Lebanese.” wakhatam mahfuda: “fi mawdue almafqudin maswuwliatan wataniatan wansaniatan tasqut amamaha kulu alaietibarat ala adha ghabat aljur’at fi aitikhadh almawqif alwatanii khawfan min mawqif tadibiin min fayid alquati. sanutabie alqadiat mae ‘ahzabina wanuaabina walkutal alati tushbihuna walmawdue lan yamura li’anana sanatasadaa likuli muhawalat litams qadiat almuetaqalin fi suria”. Mahfoud concluded: “We will follow up on the issue with our parties, representatives, and blocs that resemble us, for this matter will not pass because we will confront every attempt to obliterate the issue of detainees in Syria.”
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon