Written by Mona Soukariyeh Translated by Rabab Housseiny
11687 days had passed, and Imam Moussa Sadr, as well as companions Sheikh Mohammad Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badr-el-Din are still missing. Neither the Islamic nor the Arab world had ever encountered such a dim, muted, dusky, and enigmatic mystery of the most eminent Shiite personality's unfathomable disappearance. Back in 1978, Imam Moussa Sadr and his two companions traveled to Libya, the land from which they never returned. Where are they? We all wonder. What happened during that never-ending journey? How was the conspiracy plotted overnight? How possibly could the Imam of dialogue and openness disappear, and the Arab and Islamic states remain cross-handed? "Peace of Lebanon" is the label of the 32nd commemoration of the Imam's disappearance marked by Amal Movement whereby faithful crowds mobbed the city of Tyre on Tuesday.
For this occasion, the National News Agency met with Sayyed Sadr-el-Din Sadr, son of the vanished Imam, and former Deputy, Hassan Yacoub, son of the Imam's companion, in an unprecedented press talk. "In 1976, and due to the civil war, we had to move in Teheran. I finally returned to Lebanon in 1989 and settled for good at Imam Sadr's Institutions", said Sadr-el-din. He went on to clarify that even according to the diplomatic and judicial authorities, the Imam and his companions traveled to Libya on a state visit, yet never returned. Moammar Al-Qadhafi alleged that they had been to Rome. Nevertheless, the Italian judiciary and the Lebanese inquiries as well as the provided information proved that the Libyan President's claims were not true. In fact, on 31/8/2002, Al-Qadhafi admitted that the Imam and his companions had entered Libya upon an official invitation and disappeared there.
Therefore, the Lebanese judiciary took action again into the incident, after having been for long idle for reasons so far unexplained. An indictment was hence issued against the Libyan President on 21/8/2008, yet the Judicial Council, deemed the competent authority accordingly, had not fixed a date for the prosecution. "We do not aim at tampering with the Lebanese Judiciary as it represents us all. However, we are in front of a cause of justice. It is a shame that the Lebanese state and the Arab community remain idle. I would like to ask, through the NNA, about what the government did as for the Imam's disappearance", he said. "The Imam and his companions are still alive in Libya. This is not new, but it seems as if this must not be told", he stressed. He added that the liberation of the vanished Imam and companions must be by exerting pressure on Al-Qadhafi, since the latter had already bribed an Italian judge. "These are flagrant lies", he said, wondering why Lebanon had partaken in the Arab Summit held in Libya earlier this year. Sadr-el-Din underscored that the Imam had taught us that whenever it is about justice, we must be the cause's advocates, albeit alone. He reiterated that what is sought is the liberation of his father and his companions. "If we ever sought anything else, it would be deemed treason", he underlined. When asked about his belief in vengeance, the son of the vanished Imam strikingly said "no". "The Imam did not teach us to revenge, but to defend what is right and just", he corroborated.
"Our obligation is to free the Imam and his companions, and then to follow the Imam's path", he concluded.
