The Lebanese Cabinet’s decisions on 12/7/2001 concerning the ex-detainees, aren’t the first of there kind and wont be the last in the frame of complete handling for this patriotic and humanitarian case.

That’s why a person who supposes this action closes the ex-detainees case is misguided, because this case wasn’t opened in the last protest and wont be closed by its deferral.

The movement concerning the sponsorship of ex-detainees has been open widely since the activation of Ansar detention center on 14/July/1982. Where the captive “movement”, with the supervision of the Follow-Up Committee, was able to achieve noteworthy breakthroughs and the statement of conventions, which formed the basis for the following decisions prepared by the Ministerial Council:

 - In the year 1993, important decisions where issued by the Cabinet.
 - In the year 1995, the enhancement & adjustment of the above stated occurred.
 - In the year 1999, 75 ex-detainees were appointed in OGERO.
 - In the year 2000, a ministerial committee was formed to study the status of the ex-detainees’ families, upon request of the follow up committee, which modified some of the social giveaways in the Council of the South.

The latest decisions issued by the Cabinet didn’t just emerge without notice, but came as an outcome of a lengthy hardships & stacking over the last years. The ex-detainees’ protests was an up thrusting factor in the field of the constant movement, which was organized & sustained by the Follow-Up Committee.

The Committee’s position & the Cabinet decisions

  The government’s decision to hand out monetary compensation instead of offering employment opportunities “shows the government reneged on its March 15 1995 decision that gave priority to employing ex-detainees in public institutions.” Not taking into consideration that these compensation funds are meager, worthless, and  doesn’t appeal to the detainees who were in a state of resistance.

As for the segregation of the ex-detainees into sects, our Committee refuses it idealistically for the following reasons:

  1- The idea to segregate ex-detainees into sects, splits their hardships and makes them stand against each other. This suggestion doesn’t have any scientific or humanitarian basis. It is just to relieve officials from the weight of the larger number of detainees, the ones who spent a year and a half or less than a year!!!

  2- It is hard to find the extent of the effect of detention on any detainee without taking into consideration the psychological, medical, and physical state at the time of detention.

  3- Civil status and extent of stability or instability, which he had before detention.

  4- the age when he was detained is considered as a basic identifier, because detaining an adolescent differs from detaining a fully masculine youth. Also detaining an elder differs from detaining a young man.

  5- The personal history of the detainee and the extent of the hardship of his past experiences, which were, afflicted upon him, his outlook upon him self and his personal power or unsteadiness.

  6- The extent of his personal maturity and the extent of his scholastic, vocational or other achievement.
  7- The involvement of the detention center to any sect or un-involvement.
 

  8- What was the detainee exposed to in the penal complex? The kind of torture he was subjected to; it’s intensity and the personality of the person inflicting the torture upon him. Assuring that according to our experience and the testimonies of the ex-detainees; that the hardest times of detention were mostly in the first three months (which is the time for inquiry and torture). Most of the detainees passed in this phase in Ansar, Khiam, and other penal complexes,keeping in mind that the torturing may be extended to a year or more.
That is why there is no elucidation for this segregation according to the length of detention, because it “endows” unfairness upon a great number of ex-detainees.
From the scientific side, the segregation of the ex-detainees (according to the project presented by the ministerial committee & the projects suggested by some of the MP’s) accommodates the years of detention only, without taking into consideration the basic factors stated above, especially the age, torture, and the psychological state.
The operation to differentiate from one day to three years is accountable by the government by a compensation of five million Lebanese pounds/year; as for the detainees who stayed for more than five years get a pension salary.
For what is this arcane segregation? There are hundreds of ex-detainees who have physical & mental disabilities from the first weeks of detention due to ever-persistent torture, some of which were transported from the detention center to hospitals after months of detention!
We point out in this area to the intensity and savagery of this torture in Ansar detention center, inquiry centers in the Safa factory, Nuns’ school, the Rigi, Tel Nahhas, and others, which led to the martyrdom of more than thirty Lebanese and Palestinian detainees.
As for Khiam detention center, the time span from the year 1985 till 1995 is “unchallenged” in the intensity of torture, by the stage after the entrance of the International committee for the Red Cross to the detention center.
So did the government or the ministerial committee take into consideration the difference between these two stages when placing the projects and suggestions?
Of course the difference here is not chronological, but is of the nature of torture and the psychological state of mind.

If we perform a primary reading to the detention movements between 1982 and till 85-86-87,we would have a clear picture that the larger amount of ex-detainees from Ansar detention center were released due to exchange operations, so does that take away there status as resistant detainees?
Or were they required to stay longer in prison so that they are included in the pension plan?! The outcomes of detention and their medical & psychological marks on girls, children, elderly people, and married couples who were detained with their sons had a higher impact (even if the detention span was short).
We point out here that the Cabinet’s project and others weren’t fair to the ex-detainees from Ansar & Khiam that were detained between 1985 and 1992 were they didn’t benefit from the giveaways that were appointed by the ever-changing “governments” saying that the Council of the south was not there!!!
So instead of being fair commemorating the first guerillas that liberated Ansar and Khiam’s first phase, comes the official segregation of ex-detainees to throw away and keep them in the valley of forgetfulness.
If it was a must to differentiate between an ex-detainee and another well that would be to give him raises for each extra year he spent or his scholastic achievement (within a caliber where all are equal), because it is shameful to say to some ex-detainees that you deserve the pension plan and to the rest that they don’t because you don’t deserve it because you didn’t complete the five years at prison!!!!

It is a patriotic cause and it’s the government’s responsibility to interact with all the detainees as patriotic heroes, not only as numbers or a bunch of employees, some to be given pension wages others to be given compensation wages as of end of employment.
That is why, with reference to all we stated above, the follow-up committee refuses the segregation of the ex-detainees to sects, also refuses the replacement of the employment of ex-detainees with severed compensations, because a job serves as a mean of social integration for the ex-detainees in the society.
The real reason behind this segregation is materialistic only, because the government disposes of a big load of  “its” chest with this segregation getting rid of 4616 ex-detainees using the mean of cheap compensation for 5 million Lebanese pounds for each year of detention. That number (4616) is the bigger part of the ex-detainees, and the rest 400are going to be given the pension plan.

Brothers and Sisters;

On the date 15/6/2000 the Cabinet accepted on providing help to ex-detainees (who spent in detention in the enemy’s penal centers for a span passing five years) from the help of the Council of the South for two years from his liberation instead of one year.
This decision was unfair to those who spent under five years in detention although some detainees spent 4 years and 8 months (~ 5 years) but were not included in this decision.
Our only cause is to presage you once again of the outcome of the segregation of ex-detainees into sects.
As for the decoration for the detainee, the Cabinet accepted on a meeting held on 8/3/1995 on the production of a decoration called the “decoration of freedom” which is given for the ex-detainees, according to laws that should be appointed by an acceptance granted by the decoration’s council, but sadly this decision was not put into action.

The Follow-Up Committee requests from the government and the parliament to re-evaluate the Cabinets Decisions as follows:

First: The refusal of the segregation of ex-detainees to sects and grades. To consider all the liberated as an indivisible unit. (Disregarding the years of detention)

Second: the refusal of the idea of compensation, adhering to the Cabinet’s decision (on 8/3/1995) to provide jobs for the families of ex-detainees and there integration in public institutions. Also to give the families if the ones who are disabled, martyrs, or dead whatever the length of detention they spent.

Third: To issue a clear decision considering the ex-detainees as soldiers in the Lebanese army (excluding the ones who were detained for a couple of days for questioning), giving them the choice of employment or pension wages.

Fourth: A medical card for all the ex-detainees providing free medical treatment for the ex-detainee and his family on the ministry of health’s bill. The grant of full scholastic and university scholarship for the children of the ex-detainees in the Lebanese official schools and universities.

Five: Not to exclude the ex-detainees, currently employed in the government from the above grants.

Six: The formation of an official institution to take care of the ex-detainees, families of detainees and lost captives. As for this institution to expand for centers for vocational, psychiatric, civic, and medical rehabilitation.

That is how we view the Cabinet’s decisions, requesting the parliament and the government to perform basic changes in there decisions. The formation of a fair project for the complete social benefit of ex-detainees.

We ask all the ex-detainees from Ansar, Khiam and other penal centers to stay as one group to achieve there requests, refusing the segregation amidst them into groups; political, religious, or by area.