George Abdallah: Not All Lebanese Citizen Are Equal
By: Nader Fawz -
January 18th, 2012, Al Akhbar Newspaper
What does a Lebanese citizen who is imprisoned in a foreign
country do?
If he were a diamond merchant in Africa, MPs would send a
high-ranking delegation from their ranks to the county in question in order to
advocate for the detainee.
But if such a detainee is not politically connected, then little
can be done. Taking this into consideration, what should a Lebanese political
prisoner in a French prison do?
So far, the answer seems to be nothing. The Lebanese diplomatic corps
has not followed up on the issue, the family of the prisoner has no political
backing, and no concerned political forces have taken action on the matter
recently.
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| Liberate George Abdallah: 28 Years Are Enough! |
The only people concerned with the cause of George Abdallah, who
has been imprisoned in France since October 1984, are his family, close
friends, and a few young activists from the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth
(ULDY). They are also the only ones who are familiar with the details of his
case.
They know that Abdallah completed his sentence 12 years ago and
that the decision to keep him in prison is motivated by politics. They know
that French prosecutors rejected, appealed, and suspended French court
decisions to free Abdallah.
They know that he has filed for parole nine times but that all of
his requests have been rejected by the French judicial and political
authorities.
They know that the French authorities are keeping George Abdallah
in prison because, when asked, he tells judges in French courtrooms that if he
were to get out of prison, he would not stop his political struggle to liberate
Palestine.
While his supporters have little political backing, advocates for
Abdallah have established two different organizations to lobby for his release.
The first is the International Campaign to Free George Abdallah (ICFGA). The
other is a domestic organization – the Committee of the Comrades of George
Abdallah (CCGA) – which is primarily made up of his family members, friends,
ULDY, and various independent figures.
Twenty-eight years have passed since Abdallah’s arrest and yet
many in Lebanon are ignorant concerning the specifics of his case. Some
officials still ask who George Abdallah is, while others accept the French
authorities’ opinion that he is “a terrorist and a subversive.”
This explains why a close aid of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib
Mikati said that the prime minister does not know yet if he is going to bring
up Abdallah’s case with French officials during his upcoming visit to France in
the first week of February.
This announcement was made despite a visit Wednesday by a
delegation from the ICFGA, its second, to the prime minister’s office.
Lebanese officials have not taken action on Abdallah’s case since
1999 when Salim al-Hoss was prime minister. Similar negligence can be observed
by other groups in relation to Abdallah’s case, even within some leftist
circles to which he belongs.
For example, a few days ago, a conference of the Arab left was
held in Beirut. Arab participants paid tribute at the conference to “all the
prisoners and detainees in Arab and Western prisons, especially the Palestinian
and Arab prisoners in Zionist prisons.”
But neither the summaries, nor the tributes, nor the conference
itself remembered George Abdallah.
About one week ago, communication was established between the
ICFGA and the Lebanese Consul in France, Ghadi el-Khoury.
El-Khoury told Abdallah’s “comrades” that he discussed the issue
with French officials and sent a telegram informing the Lebanese Foreign
Ministry about the inquiry and the details of the conversation between the
consul and those advocating for Abdallah.
Abdallah’s comrades later found out from the French that “the
Lebanese state is not demanding the release of Abdallah.” Abdallah’s supporters
say that this should call into question the extent to which the Lebanese
government is working for the release of Abdallah.
Two weeks ago, on 5 January 2012, a member of the Free Patriotic
Movement’s (FPM) Change and Reform bloc, MP Simon Abi Ramia, sent a message to
Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour inquiring about the position of the Lebanese
state regarding Abdallah and its failure to demand his release.
The answer was delayed. A written answer concerning the state’s
position on Mansour was expected to be delivered within a matter of hours.
Instead, the question made the rounds for days between the office of the prime
minister and other decision-making centers. This suggests that something is in
the works regarding Abdallah’s case among certain parliamentary circles,
specifically the Change and Reform bloc, the Amal Movement’s Resistance and
Development bloc, and Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc.
After Abi Ramia’s action, informed sources indicated that two MPs,
Nawwar al-Sahili (Hezbollah) and Ali Bazzi (Amal), were assigned the task of
following up on the issue. They have been working behind the scenes trying to
get to know the details of the case.
Joseph Abdallah, George Abdallah’s brother, who is active in the
CCGA and the ICFGA says: “In light of the work done by the campaign and certain
developments that have taken place, there is talk suggesting that the issue of
George Abdallah will be raised again.”
Jospeh points to what the former Director of French Intelligence
Yves Bonnet told the newspaper La Dépêche on 7 January 2012,
when he attacked his government, characterizing the continued detention of
George a “scandal” arguing that the issue has become one of “state vengeance.”
Joseph says there are developments that must be taken seriously
without “deluding ourselves with anything.” That is, without misleading
George’s comrades and friends concerning what the Lebanese state is capable of
doing for Abdallah.
On the other hand, the committee leader in the ULDY, Hassan Sabra,
says that the group has worked on this issue since 2006 and will continue to do
so until Abdallah is released. Sabra adds that they have established direct
communication with the “freedom fighter” because “he trusts us and our activism
and he is in line with our views.”
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition
