The disappeared of Lebanon are again on the political agenda, haunting all those responsible, writes Zeina Khodr It's been over 10 years and the fate of Dany -- the youngest child of Mary and Joseph Mansourati -- remains unknown. Hundreds of Lebanese like Dany, drawn from all religious backgrounds and persuasions, remain disappeared or arbitrarily detained. Their families and human rights groups blame Syrian military and intelligence officers who controlled Lebanon over the past three decades. "Why did they take him, I don't know. What is he charged with, I don't know. Why is he still there, I don't know. They took him on 9 May 1992," Mary, who is originally Syrian, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We were in Damascus. Dany and his brother were stopped by Syrian intelligence personnel and Dany was taken away," Mary said. "I asked some influential people and all they would tell me was that Dany worked for Israel. That is not true. He hated Israel. He used to belong to the Lebanese Forces militia but he left the party a long time ago." The circumstances behind much abduction are believed to be political, especially if those taken engaged in armed insurrection against Syrian forces or had alleged ties to Israel. Over 17,000 Lebanese went missing during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) and in ensuing years. All parties to the conflict -- the Lebanese militias, Palestinian groups, the Israeli army and the Syrian army -- bear responsibility for disappearances. "Concerning the Syrian file, Syrian officers directly or through Lebanese security forces illegally detained scores of Lebanese and moved them to Syria," Ghassan Mukheiber, the head of the parliamentary Committee for Human Rights told the Weekly. "And Syria is not acknowledging their existence." Their mothers, however, are not taking no for an answer. Since Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon in April 2005, they have been camping outside the headquarters of the UN in Beirut, demanding an international committee be formed to investigate their cases. "When we began the protest, we had 280 names. After Syria's pullout, families started to come forward with information about their loved ones. Today, we have 643 names," Ghazi Aad, the head of the non-governmental organisation, Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE) said. "But from past experience we know the numbers are higher. For example, on 28 February 1998 the head of Syria's Syndicate of Lawyers said in Beirut they had no more detainees left in their jails. Days later, on 6 March, Syria released 121 detainees. And from the 121, we only had four names on our list which means we didn't know about 117 cases." Amnesty International has for years been calling on the Syrian authorities to disclose the fate or whereabouts of those missing. "There is no legal basis for the arrest and transfer of Lebanese nationals to Syria, who are later held either without trial or after unfair trials," the group said. Remon Suweidan was one of those released in 1998. Along with his brother Michelle, he was held in Syrian jails for over five years. "We never had access to a lawyer. I was taken to a military court. At first, they accused me of involvement in Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. I told them that this was impossible since I was 12 years old at the time. They then decided to slap the accusation on me that I was a member of the Lebanese Forces militia," he explained. The subject of detainees held in Syria has long been taboo in Lebanon. But in May 2005, the then Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati broke the official silence and raised the case with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus. They agreed to set up a joint Lebanese-Syrian commission to probe into the matter. "It is the first time the issue was brought forward officially by the Lebanese government," Nasri Khouri, secretary-general of the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council, told the Weekly. Mukheiber rebuffed that claim. "There was Syrian control over Lebanon -- that is why the Lebanese government didn't open the file." The joint commission is also looking into a Syrian demand concerning the cases of 795 Syrians who were either killed or disappeared during the war years. "It is not enough to say that this person was kidnapped by the Syrians. Lebanon was an open battlefield; Lebanese were vulnerable to attacks and kidnappings and so were the Syrian soldiers who were also killed and kidnapped," Ahmed Dawa, editor-in-chief of Syria's official daily Al-Thawra said. "Syrian officials have asked Lebanese authorities in the past [to investigate], and gave them evidence, like where someone was arrested or disappeared." The joint commission is the first of its kind. Two Lebanese committees set up over the past five years did not achieve any tangible results. The first committee worked during Prime Minister Selim Hoss term in office and concluded in 2000 that there were no Lebanese left in Syrian jails, with families told to "accept reality despite its bitterness". However, as Mukheiber explains, "the first and second committees failed because they were made up of security officials who were under Syrian control. They declared them dead yet later some were released." When 54 Lebanese prisoners were freed in December 2000, Syrian officials said they were the only ones left in their jails. They were released as part of an amnesty granted by President Al-Assad. Their repatriation generated more anger than gratitude since some of those released were declared dead by the first Lebanese committee. Deputy Fouad Saad chaired the second Lebanese committee between 2001 and 2003 during the tenure of slain prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri. "The situation was that the Syrians were here, we couldn't fight them, we could only ask them. So I took the file to President Lahoud, but he told me if we talk about this issue now we are trying to put Syria in trouble since the international community is accusing it of terrorism, so he told me to put it to sleep," Saad said. Khouri refused to comment on Saad's remarks but said that when the issue was raised officially, there was an immediate agreement to set up a commission. "They lie when they say they have no Lebanese left in their jails. Families visited their children. I met someone from my village, Hasbaya, in prison in 1989. He was never released. Where is he?" Ali Abu Dehn, who spent 13 years in Syrian jails and was released in 2000, told the Weekly. Abu Dehn was accused of working with Israel. "Even if I was a convicted criminal, I should have not been treated like this. I have human rights. I have a right to a fair trial and access to my family. I didn't get any of that. At one point when we were in Tidmor prison, we stayed five years without knowing what was happening in the world," Ali said. Families of those missing are pinning their hopes on the change in political climate in Lebanon following the withdrawal of Syrian forces. And they are making clear if the Syrian authorities do not cooperate, they intend to internationalise the case. "We met UN officials and they understood our demands for an international enquiry. But this issue is in the hands of the Security Council which means a political decision is needed, and a request from the Lebanese government," Aad said. Not all agree. Khouri believes the issue should be solved bilaterally since the joint commission has started work in earnest. Mukheiber, however, warned Syria to cooperate. "The file won't just go away until the truth is found," he said. "It could reach an international tribunal."
