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Originally Posted by The Jade  Since when did we start believing the syrians ??? |
Sure Syria lies... but a liar doesn't necessarily lie all the time.
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Originally Posted by The Jade And how come you didn't ask this question before ? |
FPM has been asking this question for a while, especially after we discovered that some of those presumed in Syrian jails ended up being buried under the courtyard of the defense ministry... and thanks to FPM, their fate was finally discovered.
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Originally Posted by The Jade How come you've been supporting Solid all that time and never asked for the veracity of their statements ? |
Solide has done and is still doing a great and commendable job... it is their job to raise the case of any person they suspect is in Syrian jails regardless if their suspicion is substantiated with evidence or based on a rumor or a story someone mentioned to them. Solide's names and numbers of prisoners in Syrian jails, however, are not necessarily always accurate. Actually, I know they are not accurate... and anyone saying they are accurate is just lying ta 7atta yzeyid 3leyna because no one knows for sure.
When you negotiate with the Syrians, of course you can throw at them the whole Solide list but doing so will harm your cause more than help it. It will only take for the Syrians to provide proof that 1 or 2 names on the list never made it to Syria (and they can probably do it easily like what happened with those buried at the defense ministry) to claim that your whole list is made up and inaccurate. It's a mistake to make Solide's list as the Bible to determine who was or still is in Syrian jails.
The truth might be that some, not all, of the Solide names were or still are in Syrian jails. There could also be some others in Syrian jails that Solide never knew about. Why should we limit the negotiations for their release to the names on Solide's list?
Negotiating for the release of the prisoners is not going to happen overnight and in one big swoop. If anyone thinks this is the way it will happen, they are dreaming or hallucinating. And if anyone thinks the Syrians will just release them and in the process incriminate themselves, they are also hallucinating. Their release won't happen unless the Syrians feel that somehow they will not be prosecuted for their imprisonment or killing. Worse yet, the Syrians have to feel that they can later claim that either they didn't imprison them illegally or they weren't even in Syrian jails... maybe they will gradually start to miraculously and suddenly reappear in Lebanon or some other country.
This is the reality, unfortunately.
I wish we could give them such guaranties to end the suffering of the prisoners and/or their families but no guarantee we (FPM) can give
Syria will make them feel secure enough to release the prisoners overnight.
This is why I believe that while FPM can help in some way but the release will happen gradually and mysteriously after long negotiations between 2 official Lebanese/Syrian specialized committees.
If our goal is to advance FPM's political interest rather than the interest of the prisoners/disappeared and their families, we can sit back and play heroes by claiming we will never communicate with the Syrians until they release all the prisoners... we can even add that we won't communicate until they are punished for their crimes. This is the easiest and most beneficial course we could take.
But if our goal is to help secure the release of the prisoners or discovering their fate, we need to act... not sit back.
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Originally Posted by The Jade Syria has been denying the presence of any lebanese in syrian jail for the past 15 years and now you want to believe them ??? |
And what's your (or FPM's) leverage to all of a sudden make them stop denying it?
And if they keep on denying it, what's your plan (other than sending commando troops to snatch every single prisoner from jail) to get them released?
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16th November 2008
