Angered Servicemen Families Vow to Escalate as Officials Fail to Soothe their Distress
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The families of abducted servicemen vowed on Tuesday to step up endeavors within 24 hours to press the state to “seriously” deal with the case of their sons, who were taken hostage by Islamist militants seven months ago.
“Even people will be targeted with our endeavors... we will not only close roads,” the relatives told reporters gathered near their camp site in downtown Beirut's Riad al-Solh square.
They lamented the state's negligence, revealing that the “government isn't dealing seriously with the case,” also revealing that negotiations reached a dead-end.
The comments of the relatives come in light of their meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat at his residence in Clemenceau.
“We were only seeking some answers by meeting with Jumblat but after the meeting we perceived that the file is frozen,” the families remarked.
Negotiations with the al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group became discrete after the government urged the families to remain mum about the mediation in the case to ensure the release of their sons.
“We vowed to abide by the government's secrecy policy but we didn't expect to be marginalized... Secrecy should have been only practiced with the media and not with the distressed mothers and fathers,” the families decried.
The policemen and soldiers were abducted by the Islamist gunmen in the wake of battles in the eastern border town of Arsal in August.
A few of them have since been released, four were executed, while the rest are still being held.
The families vowed to head to Casino du Liban within 24 hours and close its doors, wondering if such an action would put their case on a front burner.
“How was the crisis at the casino resolved swiftly but our 7-month old case is still awaiting solutions?” they wondered.
The hostage-takers had warned several times the Lebanese authorities that they would kill more captives if they did not meet their demands.
Among their demands is the release of Islamist prisoners in Lebanon.
“We are only seeking to be briefed on the developments,” the families said, pointing out that they will hold a meeting on Wednesday with General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim.
H.K.
M.T.
03 February 2015, 14:45
11
What I find laughable (as opposed to simply pathetic) is the "servicemen". We first saw this in reference to the Ukraine coup's thugs. It tends to emphasize the lack of legitimacy, let alone professionalism of the Lebanese racist/elitist state. I will admit that Lebanese soldiers wear berets like no other French Foreign Legion unit now or in history, albeit that is the only distinction, or maybe that is why the French (Israelis?) have the Lebanese "servicemen" wear the beret so fastidiously: to emphasize their total lack of legitimacy and professionalism. Let the Shia majority rule: amend Article 24 of the Lebanese Constitution to provide open races for all Parliamentary seats.
03 February 2015, 15:04
10
YES! Let the Shia majority rule and take us back to the middle ages. Hooray!!
03 February 2015, 15:27
32
rifi should admit his failure as a politician and as a human being, and let the army get the job done. he is clearly not up to the task, and too close to the islamist circles to be credible.
03 February 2015, 19:04
12
Anytime now, you will make sense Mowaten. But this day is not today.
03 February 2015, 19:55
20
never expected you to understand my comments, please stick to your own politics israelidemocrat, maybe there you'll have a better chance of understanding
03 February 2015, 15:39
21
The state has done so little to our soldiers. In Jordan the authorities have stood their ground a couple of days ago, warning IS that if it killed its pilot, the Jordanians will also execute all the prisoners it has of IS. I spoke of the very same position here in Lebanon, I said that we too should adopt the same position as did the Jordanians, tit for tat, simple. What I proposed was even better, that for every Lebanese soldier IS holds, that we give the families of the soldier 30 IS prisoners, let the families keep them and do with them whatever they wished, if in case IS executed one of ours, we execute 30 or 50 of theirs. If we held them captive and hostage, we could then dictate the terms, sadly, this is not the case right now with our dear state. Let's emulate the Jordanians, I like their ways better than ours.
03 February 2015, 15:41
21
In reference to why I like the ways of the Jordanians, in 1972 masalan, they kicked the PLO out of Jordan, it was called then Black September, but Jordan felt a lot safer and better thereafter. With us in Lebanon, because we failed to follow a clear lead, we kept them in Lebanon and we got ourselves a civil war like no other on our soil. Now with IS, Jordan has made again another good move, why can't we?!!
03 February 2015, 20:03
00
FT, I do concur with your response, to a good degree what you said is something I do agree with. However and despite your narration, the Jordanians have what we don't and that's called a strong central command, a nerve system that has the will to do things unlike us here, that nerve system is way too weak. Jordan is in many ways a society that also needs to check around itself, it too has its fragile glass panels, but unlike us Jordan has long since established a reputation, that decisions can be made, whereas with us decisions could be made except for having to pas through 1000 + political channels.
