Probe launched into 'shame' of abandoned bones at grave (Anjar mass grave site)

The Daily Star ^ | 12/8/05 | Rym Ghazal

[Valin]

BEIRUT: A local investigation was launched Wednesday into the abandoned bones found scattered in the Anjar mass graves, a discovery the Public Prosecutor for the area called "shameful." "I have sent officers to investigate and gather as much information as possible and then I am personally going to the mass graves on Thursday to see for myself what went wrong," said Prosecutor-General Abdullah Bitar told The Daily Star. Bitar is responsible for the case of the Anjar mass graves where remains of an estimated 28 bodies were found.

This reporter, along with the farmer who lives by the mass graves on the Nabi Azir hilltop, made a discovery on Tuesday of about 10 bones, including a piece of a skull, that were un-attended and scattered about the mass graves.

"This is very serious as all the bones should have been collected by the authorities, this kind of carelessness is unacceptable," said Bitar, who has been in contact with The Daily Star since the discovery on Tuesday. He launched the investigation after receiving written notification from The Daily Star at his Bekaa headquarters.

"Some of the identities of those buried might get lost because of this shameful error," added Bitar.

The saga began after the Lebanese authorities announced the completion of their three-day exhumation on Monday night. It was expected that all the remains of those buried would have been collected and transferred to specialized labs in Beirut for DNA and genetic analyses.

Meanwhile, the office of the Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa was contacted again because the Lebanese authorities responsible for the exhumation are under the Interior Ministry's jurisdiction. The minister declined to comment.

The case has also fallen under the jurisdiction of the Justice Minister Charles Rizk. His spokesperson said that "the minister is currently away, but he is going to take this case seriously and will look into it immediately on his return."

On Tuesday, Rizk asked State Prosecutor Said Mirza "to take all necessary measures and to make inquiries to reveal the truth behind these crimes and to launch a public prosecution against the perpetrators."

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asked for assistance in "this tragedy," has already passed on its expertise in the exhumation process.

"Our mandate is to pass on our expertise and techniques to the Lebanese authorities and ministries, which we have already done, and it is up to them to follow the guidelines or not," ICRC spokesperson Kareem Mufti told the Daily Star.

"Contrary to popular belief, we do not do anything operational and we are not directly involved in such processes as exhumation," said Mufti.

"Therefore, we can't just go to the site and control the exhumation, as it is under the responsibility of the government," he added.

The ICRC is planning to release to the public a guideline

on exhumation to serve as an aid for "proper exhumation in line with international standards."

Forensic experts investigating the identities of the bodies unearthed at Anjar will "be sending the samples to France for DNA analyses to determine the exact date of death," according to Daily Star sources.

DNA and genetic analyses of the bones, two of which appear to be of children and one of a pregnant woman with traces of a fetus, are expected to take a month, said the source.