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Human Rights Action Alert |
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The
Lebanese Forces Party ===================================================================== In what was known as a mass crackdown on right-wing opposition, Lebanese troops and Army Intelligence staged illegal arbitrary arrests around the country including senior leaders of the disbanded Lebanese Forces Party (LFP), the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the National Liberal Party (NLP). The Army then proceeded to set up roadblocks around the country and arrest hundreds of members and supporters of political opposition, students and members of Unions with no warrants. The Military Court held its first proceedings today and issued sentences ranging from two months to two years. Others will stand trial after being investigated with. Your urgent help is needed to secure the release of those arrested unharmed, to safeguard the lives and the integrity of those targeted and to preserve Freedom in Lebanon. Background: On Friday, his Beatitude Patriarch Nassrallah Boutros Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and the Entire East, paid a historical visit to the mountains of Chouf, Druze stronghold, in an effort to bring about reconciliation between the Christians and the Druze. This visit marked a new beginning of hope in a country that still suffers from the scars of the war and from foreign occupations. On Sunday, the last day of the visit to Chouf area, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud arrived at Our Lady of Tell church to attend the mass held by Patriarch Sfeir, when he was met with a crowd demanding Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and the release of Dr. Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces Party. People in the crowd complained to a reporter from L’Orient Le Jour that they were harassed by the Lebanese Intelligence as soon as they arrived to the Church. The complaints ranged from tearing down a picture for Lebanese Saint Rafka to forcing three men wearing Kaki[1] pants to strip to physical abuse and threats. Troops and Army Intelligence even tried to shut down the gates leading to the church in an attempt to prevent the crowd from participation. Journalists taking pictures of the pushing and shoving by the army were warned to stop or face the consequences. According to the Associated Press, Lebanese troops raided an office of the disbanded Lebanese Forces in Antelias and another belonging to the Free Patriotic Movement and proceeded to arrest men and women and to confiscate computers, files and equipments. A giant picture for Patriarch Sfeir in the LF student’s office was seen on Television broken and thrown on the floor. The newspaper Daily Star reported that “In Tuesday’s sweep, the army stormed private homes and offices to arrest suspected activists, including the two most senior representatives of the two factions Nadim Lteif, the local representative of the Free Patriotic Movement headed by the exiled Aoun, and Tawfiq Hindi, adviser to Samir Geagea, the imprisoned leader of the disbanded Lebanese Forces. Others were summoned by telephone for questioning.” Dr. Hindi and General Lteif were taken to the Ministry of Defense in Yarzeh. Dr. Hindi’s wife told al Safir Newspaper that an Army Officer in civilian clothes along with three others entered the house without being invited and with no warrant in hand at 8 O’clock in the evening and asked Dr. Hindi to accompany them to the Intelligence Center. Dr. Hindi went into his room to make a phone call when he was intercepted and taken forcefully amidst the crying of his 11-year-old daughter who screamed: “Do not take my daddy”. In Besharre, hometown to Dr. Samir Geagea, the Army intelligence arrested the Lawyer Elie Kayrouz along with his three underage children; the oldest is 13 years old. They handcuffed him in front of his children and dragged all of them to the Interrogation Center. Parliament Representative and leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt condemned the arrests and said in a televised statement: "I would like to know who runs this country, the intelligence services or the head of state and the government," Charges
and statements by the Government The army command justified its security sweep in a statement, which said “local agents sought to exploit the climate of freedom and stability to spread riots and stir up sensitivities through raising insulting slogans against certain authorities out of deeply rooted grudges that have no relation to the politics of national awareness.” The army warned it was unacceptable that such forces be allowed to flourish when the Middle East “has been pushed to the brink of a major explosion because of daily Israeli massacres committed against the Palestinians.” “The army command will take all legal and necessary steps to restore stability and prevent any threat to national security during this fateful and sensitive phase.” Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum said his office had ordered the “detention of several people suspected of involvement in actions, which threaten national security and reflect disrespect for state authority and for a sisterly country,” a reference to Syria. Detainees: There are no official figures as to the number of those detained especially that the arrest campaign is still going on. The numbers reported thus far is in the hundreds. Of those arrested are: · Toufic Hindi, a high-ranking official of the banned Lebanese Forces (LF). · Retired general Nadim Lteif, the coordinator of the Free National Current (FNC). · Selmaan Semaaha, head of the LF Students’ Office. · Elie Kairouz, Lawyer and LF member. · Four official members of the National Liberal Party (NLP), two of them are brothers and one is a lawyer from the Chamoun family. · To name few of those arrested: Simon Messalim, Tony Azzi, Pierre Azzi, Nader Nader, Pierre Baroudi, Lebnan Baroudi , George Elia, Sami Elia, Michel Abou Mrad, Lucy Bou Mereh, George Matar, Tony Abi Khalil, Roger Yazbek, George Yazbek, Maroun Matar, Fadi Youssef, Cahrbel Messalem, Khattar Messalem, Nehme Messalem, Haikal Moussalem, Ghazi Hashem, Jean Saad, Fadi Badawi, Sharbel Abi Akil, Claude Wazen, Fady Abboud, Johnny Nabil Abboud, Tony Tannous. Lebanese President General Emile Lahoud proclaimed to Patriarch Sfeir when the latter visited him few days ago and to his visitors at the Presidential Palace yesterday that he would do his utmost to encourage a climate of national unity in the country. The orders he gave to the Lebanese Army to crack down on hundreds of Lebanese are by no means an effort to foster national unity but instead, an attempt to compromise liberty and freedom of expression, he who gave a speech on August first when celebrating Army Day. He said: “Freedom, especially freedom of the press, is safeguarded even more than any other country which considers itself well-versed in democracy, including the United States." Your help is urgently needed to restore freedom in Lebanon and to protect the oppressed. Please write letters to the following: -
General Emile Lahoud,
President of the Republic, +961-5-451217,
opendoor@presidency.gov.lb
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