Families of Kidnapped Pilgrims Urge Boycott of Turkish Products
The families of the kidnapped pilgrims held in Syria staged a sit-in on Friday at Beirut's Martyrs' Square to demand the release of their loved ones.
They announced that they have launched a campaign to boycott Turkish products in Lebanon, urging citizens throughout the country to support them.
They also warned that “what was taken by force, will be restored by force.”
The families explained that they kicked off their boycott campaign “because economic measures are the best means to pressure countries that claim to preserve human rights.”
“Lebanon imports a billion dollars worth of products from Turkey on an annual basis,” they added from the square amid a heavy security presence in the area.
“We decided to kick off our campaign from Martyrs' Square due to its significance as a commemoration of victims who were killed under Turkish rule over Lebanon,” they continued.
Meanwhile, Daniel Shoaib, the brother of pilgrim Abbas Shoaib, revealed: “Our actions will not end with the boycott of Turkish products.”
“Our options include staging an open-ended sit-in in front of the Turkish Embassy. Turkish officials are lying as they have made false promises to us and the Lebanese state,” he declared.
The families then distributed fliers calling for a boycott of Turkish products.
The families had prevented in recent days Syrian workers from heading to their places of employment in Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahiyeh in an attempt to pressure officials to address the case of the abducted pilgrims.
They followed up this step by closing down a number of Syrian-owned stores in the Hay al-Sellom area in Beirut, saying they will remain shut until the pilgrims are released.
Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 22, 2012 as they were making their way back by land from pilgrimage in Iran.
Two of them have since been released, while the remaining nine are still being held in Syria's Aazaz area.
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