2003/04/13

April 13, A National Day for Memory

Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND)

Like every year at the same period of time, the «Committee of the Parents of the Kidnapped and Missing Persons in Lebanon» works on popularizing its action, breaking the isolation to which the authorities try to confine it and bringing its claims to a successful conclusion. This year, due to the war prevailing in Iraq, the committee’s activity is likely to be marginalized and thus needs your active solidarity.

You may find below a translation of the pamphlet of the campaign that aims at turning April 13, date of the war’s beginning, into a “National Day for Memory”, raising a memorial to all the victims of the Lebanese War and putting forward the Committee’s claims concerning the fate of the missing persons.

At last, you will find the text of a letter addressed to the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the President of the National Assembly. We would be grateful if you could send them this letter as a means of pressure to allow putting our claims forward. We would also be grateful if you communicate with us at the following address: Kidnapped961@yahoo.com

Context

Each one of us bears in the heart, sometimes even in the body, the impacts of the devastating war. The State regularly reminds us of the horrors of this war, often in an attempt to justify its failure to solve today’s problems.

In any case, each one of us keeps asking himself about the way to deal with the war that occurred in Lebanon since 1975, as an individual in his relation with himself, his children and his country.

Shall we deal with war as if it never took place? Is it useful for our children and our country to ignore it as if it did not occur? Civilized people do not forget; they rather seek to be reconciled with their past, to learn from it.

Campaign

Following the initiative of the Committee of the Parents of the Kidnapped and Missing Persons in Lebanon, with the support of the campaign called «Our right to know” and all the concerned associations and citizens, with a view to deepening the nonsectarian consciousness in the memory of our society.

In order to:

1. Declare April 13 a National Day for Memory

A day to eradicate violence and fanaticism from our society and to draw lessons from the war, lessons to recite repeatedly before our children so that they avoid our mistakes, lessons they would carry themselves to their own children.

2. Raise a memorial to all the victims of the war

A place to remember all the victims of the war and to denounce all of its crimes, a place for everyone without any discrimination, a place that makes us meditate, a place we could visit with our children in order to be reconciled with our past and give birth to a common memory for peace.

Background

Though it has hindered the country and left its devastating impacts on our lives, the war is over. But not for everyone: the parents of the kidnapped and missing persons are still waiting for the fate of their beloved ones to be clarified. It’s the responsibility of the State to determine the fate of the kidnapped and missing persons for they are all its children. Who else could be held responsible for it?

These are the main claims of the Committee of the Parents of the Kidnapped and Missing Persons in Lebanon.

Founded in 1982, the said Committee, composed of women (and men) belonging to all Lebanese communities and all groups residing in Lebanon (Palestinians, Western etc.) has been incessantly working for more than 20 years to bring its claims to a successful conclusion (see below).

To Friends

The campaign would be grateful if you could send e-mails:

to the Presidency of the Republic www.presidency.gov.lb then write to the President

to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers www.rafik-hariri.org then flash then write to the President

to the Presidency of the National Assembly nberry@lp.gov.lb

to the Parents Committee (for the archive) kidnapped961@yahoo.com

In the name of the Association………..

We urge you to meet the claims of the Committee of the Parents of the Kidnapped and Missing Persons in Lebanon. These claims can be represented as follows:

1. Publish as soon as possible the official report drawn up by the committee composed on January 5, 2001 and held responsible for receiving the complaints of the parents of the missing persons; determine the fate of the persons who disappeared during the Lebanese war since 1975 (by working on recovering their remains if they are dead and fixing the place of their detention if they are still alive).

2. Compensate morally and materially the families of the victims.

3. Declare April 13 a “National Day for Memory” and raise a memorial to all the victims of the Lebanese war.

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