NNA – Head of the Change Movement, Attorneynbsp;Elie Mahfoud, held a press conference on Saturday, in the presence of a representative of the quot;Lebanese Association for Abductees Released from Syrian Prisonsquot;, Elias Tanios.
Mahfoud said, in response to Lebanon#39;s position regarding its abstention from voting to establish an independent commission to investigate the missing: quot;The establishment of an independent institution by the United Nations in order to clarify the fate of tens of thousands of missing persons in Syria over the past 12 years is an excellent step, especially sincenbsp;we are concerned with the issue of kidnapping and disappearance with the Syrian regime. He added, quot;Wenbsp;have been provoked by the position of the Lebanese Foreign Minister, who announced the abstention along with a number of Arab countries from voting in favor of a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that stipulatesnbsp;the establishment of an independent commission to find out the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared persons in Syria.quot;
He continued, quot;The issue is moral before anything else, and the issue is humanitarian before any political considerations.quot;
quot;The importance of the decision is that it is not confined to the years of the Syrian war only, but includes long periods, and this is what will affect Lebanon directly, and despite the fact that the aforementioned decision avoided entering into political divisions and was keen to present the projectnbsp;in a form that does not show its targeting of the Syrian regime, yetnbsp;the position of the Assad regime is clear, as this regime views this decision as an attempt to interfere in Syria#39;s internal affairs,quot; Mahfoud went on.
He regrettednbsp;that the caretaker governmentnbsp;took sides and chose Assad, saying,nbsp; quot;Between the interest of Lebanon or the arrangement of the relationship with Assad, it was clear that it took sides and chose Assad, who is still kidnapping hundreds of Lebanese.quot;
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