Sun Feb 21, 2010
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has demanded an explanation from Libya regarding the fate of spiritual and political leader Imam Moussa Sadr.
"Where are Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his companions? We need to answer this question," Suleiman said on Saturday.
It is widely believed in Lebanon that the founder of the Amal movement was kidnapped and killed on the orders of senior Libyan officials, as he went missing during an official trip to Libya in 1978.
Accompanied by two of his companions, Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin, Sadr was scheduled to meet with officials from the government of the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Libya has always denied involvement, saying that the three men left for Italy on August 31, 1978 after their stay in Tripoli and that it has no idea what became of them afterwards.
During an interview, Lebanon's president said his country wishes to strengthen its ties with Tripoli but is also "determined to learn the fate" of Sadr and his companions.
Gaddafi has so far managed to ignore Lebanese calls for more information on the case, never officially visiting Lebanon since the cleric's disappearance.
The president's comments come ahead of next month's Arab League summit in Libya.
Several political figures, including parliament speaker Nabih Berri, have called on the government to boycott the summit over the Sadr case.
The vice president of the Higher Shia Council has called Lebanon's probable participation in the 22 member strong summit a "catastrophe."
"Lebanon's only condition for participating in the summit, irrespective of the level of representation, is that the issue of Sadr be discussed publicly in the opening session and before the media," Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan said on Friday.
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/119138.html.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has demanded an explanation from Libya regarding the fate of spiritual and political leader Imam Moussa Sadr.
"Where are Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his companions? We need to answer this question," Suleiman said on Saturday.
It is widely believed in Lebanon that the founder of the Amal movement was kidnapped and killed on the orders of senior Libyan officials, as he went missing during an official trip to Libya in 1978.
Accompanied by two of his companions, Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin, Sadr was scheduled to meet with officials from the government of the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Libya has always denied involvement, saying that the three men left for Italy on August 31, 1978 after their stay in Tripoli and that it has no idea what became of them afterwards.
During an interview, Lebanon's president said his country wishes to strengthen its ties with Tripoli but is also "determined to learn the fate" of Sadr and his companions.
Gaddafi has so far managed to ignore Lebanese calls for more information on the case, never officially visiting Lebanon since the cleric's disappearance.
The president's comments come ahead of next month's Arab League summit in Libya.
Several political figures, including parliament speaker Nabih Berri, have called on the government to boycott the summit over the Sadr case.
The vice president of the Higher Shia Council has called Lebanon's probable participation in the 22 member strong summit a "catastrophe."
"Lebanon's only condition for participating in the summit, irrespective of the level of representation, is that the issue of Sadr be discussed publicly in the opening session and before the media," Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan said on Friday.
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/119138.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.