Gebran Tueni Asks Lahoud to Explain the Mass Grave Unearthed in Yarze

Beirut MP Gebran Tueni unleashed a scathing attack against President Lahoud, challenging him, in his capacity as former army commander, to explain the mystery of the mass grave unearthed near the Defense Ministry in Yarze. In a statement published Tuesday in An Nahar, Tueni voiced surprise at Lahoud's silence towards the bodies of 17 soldiers and four civilians exhumed last month. "What is the position of the current president, the former army commander, who commanded the military for eight years?" asked Tueni. "How come he never searched for the soldiers who had been near his command?" "Today, this former army commander is a president, even though he is serving an extended term that was enforced on us. Yet neither he nor the presidential palace have issued any statement of condemnation, anger or sorrow. Instead, he is preparing to absolve the regime of tutelage (Syria) of all responsibility," added Tueni. Tueni said he was preparing a draft law for joining the International Criminal Court which would allow the government to surpass the opposition and automatically seek international investigation into the remains found at Yarze and the five mass graves uncovered in Anjar.

Beirut, Updated 07 Dec 05, 09:28

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