Families of Kidnapped Pilgrims Vow Escalatory Measures against Turkish Interests in Lebanon

The families of the Lebanese pilgrims held in Syria staged on Sunday a sit-in in front of the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon to protest the failure to resolve the case of their loved ones.

They vowed in a statement to “take escalatory measures against Turkish interests in Lebanon at the beginning of the new year.”

They held Turkey responsible for the ongoing “humanitarian crime” against the pilgrims, without ruling out the possibility of resorting to kidnappings to resolve the problem.

“We will resort to abductions if we deem them appropriate,” they explained.

Furthermore, they justified their blaming of Turkey for the ongoing kidnapping, by saying that the Syrian region of Aazaz where the pilgrims are being held is the closest to the Syrian-Turkish border.

“Our patience has limits. We have nothing but values. We may be chaotic, but we have values,”they warned.

In addition, the families slammed the government's policy of disassociation from regional developments, saying that it should translate its words into actions.

The families criticized the state for failing to release the pilgrims, while noting the efforts of Mustaqbal bloc MP Oqab Saqr to release the captives, hoping that he would conduct them in coordination with the state.

They therefore called on President Michel Suleiman to coordinate state efforts with those of the lawmaker to ensure the release of the pilgrims.

Moreover, they wondered why Interpol would not interfere to release the pilgrims.

On May 22, eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo district as they were making their way back by land from a pilgrimage in Iran.

One was released in late August and another in September, while the rest remain in Aazaz.

The families of the pilgrims had frequently staged sit-ins and blocked roads in protest against the ongoing abduction.

Saqr had revealed earlier in December that the abductors of the pilgrims are offering a deal to free the men in exchange for the release of Syrian political prisoners.

The MP said during an interview with al-Jadeed television that the kidnappers are demanding the release of all Syrian political prisoners in Damascus and in Lebanon to free the pilgrims.