Lebanese held in Syria

Lebanese Military Judge Saqr Saqr gave his orders on Tuesday to authorities to hand over the remains of two Syrian soldiers found in the Beqaa valley in Lebanon sometime last week.

My question to you is: what is Lebanon getting in return? What about all the bodies of Lebanese citizens (soldiers and civilians alike) that are in Syria? What about all the living Lebanese that are rotting in some basement in some Syrian jail? Do we hear anything about these people? Does the Syrian government ever hand any of them over? Do we even hear our own Lebanese government ever complaining or demanding their release?

Judge Saqr should have issued an order to hold the remains with Lebanese authorities to use as leverage in negotiations to get Lebanese held in Syria.

Or are Lebanese only Lebanese and worthy when they are held in Israeli prisons and morgues?

The ones we got held in Syria are just on vacation, you know, taking a stroll around Damascus.

Shame on Lebanon and its government for neglecting its people in this manner.

We go to war with the Israelis to return Lebanese held in Israel, while we bend backwards for the Syrians with nothing in return.

Shameful.


BG

For more information on Lebanese detained in Syria, please visit the following website: S.O.L.I.D.E. They have done an excellent job in keeping the story alive.

Lebanese Syrian Relations 2

FINALLY

Syria finally appoints its ambassador to Lebanon.
After years of not recognizing Lebanon as an independent sovereign nation, Syria has finally succumbed to international pressure to recognize its' tiny neighbor as an independent entity not part of its' own greater geographical existence. It remains to be seen if the Syrians will actually follow up this recognition of independence by not interfering in Lebanese internal affairs and not undermining Lebanon's sovereignty.
We can only hope that Lebanese Syrian relationships are finally on the right track.

This is certainly a first step in the right direction.
A plethora of issues remain to be solved:

• final and concrete demarcation of the border that separates the two countries
• review of the various treaties signed under Syrian occupation that are mostly one-sided and favor Syria
• dismantling of the various pro-Syrian Palestinian military posts
• and most importantly, the return/fate of the various Lebanese prisoners in Syria

Youtube Video

BBC Story

BG