April 13, A National Day for Memory
Source: Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND). Published on Wed, 2004-12-01 16:38
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:
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:
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:
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