Families of kidnapped protest and reopen old civil-war wounds
Lebanon, Politics, 1/7/1998

Families of people who were kidnapped or went missing during the years of the Lebanese civil strife staged a sit-in on Tuesday to raise awareness for their cause and highlight their plight.

Dozens of tormented mothers, wives and relatives of missing people gathered in front of the Government House in Beirut to protest what they regard as government neglect of their cause.

More than 17,000 people went missing during the 1975-90 civil war, when rival militias spared no method of fighting, including taking innocent civilians captive.

Muslim and Christian militias kidnapped civilians of opposite religion, most of the time slaughtering the victims on the spot. But people whose lost ones went missing would accept nothing less than practical evidence preceded by an official investigation in order to believe they are dead.

The protesters Tuesday pleaded with officials to lend their cause attention. "If you had a kidnapped son, would you be silent?" read one of the banners at the sit-in.

"We have a right to know the fate of our children," read another.

Some speculate that some current government officials may have been involved in some of these incidents and may not be keen on reopening the files of missing persons

Most of those kidnapped are believed to be dead. But their families refuse to acknowledge their death before receiving evidence.

"How am I supposed to believe my son is dead when I still have such hopes that he might turn up again some day," screamed one woman.

Lawyer Sinan Barraj, who heads the committee for the families of kidnapped people, said the group planned to escalate action if the government did not respond to their demands for launching an official investigation into the cases of missing people and the circumstances of their death.

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