Miqati and Berri to Turkish FM: No Effort will be Spared for Release of Pilots
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati condemned on Friday the kidnapping of a Turkish pilot and copilot in Beirut, saying Lebanese authorities were exerting all efforts to find the abductors.
"We expressed our condemnation of the kidnapping, we are in the process of making every effort to determine the identities of the kidnappers," Miqati told Agence France Presse.
"We are doing everything possible to secure the release" of the pilots, he said.
His remarks to AFP came after the Turkish foreign ministry's official Twitter account said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had called Speaker Nabih Berri and Miqati.
"Expressing grief on the incident, Miqati and Berri said no effort will be spared for the release of the Turkish pilots," the account said.
Meanwhile, caretaker premier Tammam Salam discussed the abduction with Charbel.
"We have condemned the kidnapping of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria and we have asked for exerting efforts to release them in cooperation with Turkish authorities,” Salam said.
He added: “But we cannot overlook today's incident that harms Lebanon's image and prestige and threatens the country's visitors.”
Salam stressed that authorities should follow-up on this case and deal “seriously and strictly with it.”
"We urge political parties to support these effort and use their connections and mediation to release the kidnapped.”
The Turkish nationals were kidnapped around 3:00 am Friday by armed men who ambushed their van as they were traveling from Beirut's airport to a hotel in Ain Mreisseh.
over 10 years
The syrians kidnapped them, whats it got to do with turkey
over 10 years
Mut3a girl, they used to be referred like that for economical reasons in 19th century, like uk in 70s or germany in 90s. Now they're better than half the countries in europe or even russia...
over 10 years
Expressing grief on the incident, Miqati and Berri said no effort will be spared for the release of the Turkish pilots ............
Wow I never knew Berri having such a soft heart, he is actually in grief over this. I never doubted his sincerity for a moment, he is a straight shooter. He looks you straight in the eyes and lies to his teeth.
over 10 years
And when he determines that Hezbollah carried out or sanctioned the kidnapping, then what will the LG do??? They will do nothing because they cannot do anything with the cancerous Hezbollah.
These are basically uncivilized people who live by some medieval code of conduct. They never resort to the courts or the rule of law unless do do so favors them. They do not participate in elections or government t unless it favors their interests. When the law, the courts, the elections or the government does not favor then interests, then they boycott, paralyze, that which opposes them, and resort to their weapons to work their will as is the case here with this kidnapping.
Very uncivilized.
over 10 years
@Southern. Touch pad typing is not my forte, I will admit. However, the point remains valid. Who in Lebanon is ready, willing and able to cause Hezbollah to stop doing something it ought not to do, or to cause Hezbollah to do something that it refuses to do when Hezbollah makes a unilateral decision with regard to the advancement of its own interests which are at odds with the interests of the Republic??
Hezbollah has a practice of counter-kidnapping and holding hostages to release those being held by others. Granted, it is wrong for Turkey, if Turkey is holding pilgrims to detain them, but the civilized response is government to government, not by repeating the wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right.
over 10 years
Try telling that to the Israelis who constantly kidnap , torture , & kill Lebanese as well as other Arab citizens !
Signed Wolf .
God Bless you Miqati and Berri for condemning the kidnapping of the Turkish pilots by Zuwar Al-Immam Rida, an obscure secular Sunni-Christian non-shia terror group. The Islamic Secular Resistance, the LAF, and the families of the "pilgrims" have all condemned the act and will spare no effort to determine the identities of the kidnappers and punish them. We, the Lebanese people have faith in our security agencies when it comes to apprehending the culprits quickly. The jammo case is a point in a case. Tfehhhh