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        Families Press Lebanon's Government to Secure Hostages' Release

   by John Owens

   A call had come in the previous night from the Jihadists holding Layali
   Ahmad Dirany's brother captive on the border with Syria, and this time
   it was good news.

   Standing in the small encampment that had been her home in the heart of
   Beirut's downtown district for half a year, she recounted the latest
   development in a painful saga with regional implications.

   "It was via a voice message saying that he was fine, and that Jabhat
   al-Nusra didn't hurt him," she told VOA.

   There is no telling what the next call will say about the fate of
   Suleiman Dirany, one of 25 Lebanese policemen and soldiers held by the
   Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as Nusra Front, after
   their capture last August.

   "The waiting itself is so hard, it is so hard to wait for someone when
   you can't hear his voice or even see him," Layali said.  "It's like
   waiting for something unknown, and the unknown is frightening so we are
   exhausted."
   The servicemen were among more than 30 taken hostage as Lebanese troops
   sought to reclaim the town of Arsal after militants briefly overran it
   last year as part of efforts to expand beyond Syria and Iraq.  Since
   then, eight servicemen have been released and four executed.

   ''In a bid to pressure the government into helping their loved ones,
   Layali and her sister were one of 13 families that set up camp on the
   doorstep of the government nearly half a year ago.  Since then, they
   have been a near-permanent presence, leaving the site only briefly when
   their tents were destroyed by storms in January.

   ''Hussein Youssef is the father of soldier Mohammad Youssef and
   spokesman for the group.  He explained the decision to create the
   encampment, which was set up after the families had initially blocked
   roads as part of their protests.

   "Our presence here next to the Lebanese government is our choice to put
   pressure on them as we are the relatives of the kidnapped and we have
   the right to decide their destiny, their life and what's happening to
   them," he said.

   Youssef told VOA he thought recent months had seen the government step
   up its efforts to bring the servicemen home.  Reports on how the
   negotiations are going often vary and occasionally even contradict one
   another.

   Prompted by previous leaks that Prime Minister Tammam Salaam has
   criticized as damaging to negotiations, the government has recently
   been tight-lipped about the crisis.  Recent weeks have included claims
   that Qatar, which suspended its involvement in the talks at the end of
   last year, may reintroduce mediators.  Earlier this month, the families
   had to counter media claims that talks had stalled entirely.  These
   were prompted by a TV station broadcasting a message recorded by one of
   the captive servicemen claiming negotiations were "non existent" and
   calling for a quick resolution to the situation.

   Youssef stated the families will "sometimes pressure, sometimes help"
   the state.  He is all too aware of the danger of being manipulated by
   the two groups of hostage-takers, who have allowed some of the families
   to visit their sons, and whose reported demands have previously
   included the release of Islamist prisoners from Lebanon's Roumieh
   prison.

   "We think these recordings are to help improve the negotiations for
   Jabhat al-Nusra or the Islamic State" he said, adding that threats
   nonetheless had to be taken seriously.

   According to some, these attempts at manipulation do not just stop at
   the families.  Imad Salamey, associate professor of political science
   and international affairs at the Lebanese American University, claims
   the Islamists are seeking to exploit political divisions and further
   tensions between Sunni and Shia in order to destabilize the country.

   "Both ISIS [Islamic State] and Nusra Front in various ways are trying
   to use the issue of the hostages to instigate this Sunni-Shia struggle,
   and trying to claim that the Lebanese government is negotiating in bad
   faith while advocating that their causes are the cause of all Sunnis."

   In this small community, such divisions have become meaningless.
   Layali is a Shia Muslim who, unlike most of the others, continues to go
   to her work as an engineer.  She pointed to the presence of Shia and
   Sunni Muslims, as well as Christians and Druze, in the surrounding
   tents.

   "Sunni and Shia have been brought together and we are all one family
   here.  We share everything and it makes the burden a little smaller."

   The phone calls, headlines and announcements are likely to continue,
   but for now, all those who are united in fear for their loved ones can
   do is hope.  Youssef, for one, is not going to give up.

   "I, personally have great hope and faith that I will see my son and hug
   him," he said.  "And he will hug his son and his wife and return to his
   previous life as it was before this problem."
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/families-press-lebanon-government-to-
   secure-hostages-release/2673203.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/families-press-lebanon-government-to-secure-hostages-release/2673203.html