Zgheib: Relatives of Aazaz Pilgrims Entitled to Take Escalatory Steps against Turkish Interests
Sheikh Abbas Zgheib, who has been tasked by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to follow up the case of the abducted Lebanese pilgrims in Syria, defended the right of the relatives of the captives to target Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Ankara to release them, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Anbaa on Sunday.
He said: “The relatives have every right to take any appropriate escalatory measure they see fit to harm Turkish interests in Lebanon.”
“Any action they take to that end will be legitimate and just,” he stressed.
On the abduction of two Turkish pilots in Lebanon on Friday, he said: “The Lebanese state has the right to intervene to resolve this issue, but it should in return fairly deal with this issue and not simply seek to appease Turkey.”
“The lack of any decisive official Lebanese position on the pilgrims' abduction prompted the kidnapping of the pilots by the Zuwar al-Imam Rida group,” Zgheib explained.
“The group cannot be blamed if its goal was to ensure the release of the pilgrims,” he stressed.
“The Turkish state is the only side that should be blamed and condemned for its attempts to stall the release of the captives,” he added.
He also said that the March 14 forces should be blamed as well because its positions have only encouraged the Turkish stances.
Asked if the pilots' abduction will harm General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim's efforts to release the pilgrims, Zgheib replied: “The members of the follow up committee on the pilgrims' kidnapping understand the good intentions of the Zuwar al-Imam Rida group.”
“The group realized that the approach of negotiations to resolve the case will not yield any results and it therefore abducted the pilots believing that a counter-kidnapping may pressure the captors to release the pilgrims,” he noted.
A Turkish pilot and co-pilot kidnapped by gunmen on Friday.
Six gunmen intercepted a van carrying the Turkish Airlines employees from Rafik Hariri International Airport to a hotel in the Ain Mreisseh seafront at dawn Friday, kidnapping the two pilots - Murat Akpinar and Murat Agca - but leaving the four other crew members behind.
The attack prompted Turkey to issue a travel warning urging its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Lebanon and those already present in the country to leave.
The relatives of the pilgrims held in Aazaz were quick to deny having any links to the abduction.
Eleven pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 2012 as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage in Iran.
Two of them have since been released, while the rest remain in Aazaz.
Their relatives have held Turkey responsible for their ongoing abduction.
They have repeatedly vowed to take action against Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Ankara to release the captives.
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