No sign of Orthodox bishops' release, fears of political blackmail grow
Damascus, 27 April 2013: There is no sign that two Orthodox bishops kidnapped five
days ago near Aleppo have been released, this despite numerous reports about their
liberation. "Nothing; there is nothing; only unreliable reports," a source, anonymous
for security reasons, told AsiaNews. "We can talk about their release only when the
two bishops are in front of us and can talk to us." Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan
Bishop Mar Gregorios Ibrahim of Aleppo Diocese and Greek Orthodox Bishop Paul Yazici
of the same city, were abducted on Monday in Kafr Dael, 10 km from Aleppo, on the
Turkish border. Their driver, a Syriac Orthodox deacon, was killed.
According
to information from the Orthodox Church, the two prelates were negotiating the release
of two priests, Fr Michel Kayyal (Armenian Catholic) and Fr Maher Mahfouz (Greek Orthodox),
seized in February and still in the hands of kidnappers, even though a ransom was
paid for their release.
Damascus pinned the kidnapping of two bishops on "terrorist
groups". Some sources have blamed Chechen jihadists for the abduction. The Free Syrian
Army (FSA), the main armed opposition force, accused instead Syrian troops.
What
the case, what is certain is that the two bishops were kidnapped in a rebel-held area
and that opposition officials said they would do what they could to ensure their release.
"However, the release is taking its time," the source told AsiaNews, "and this is
worrisome."
Some fear that the abduction might be a way to force the Church
and Christians to take sides. So far, only the United Nations and the Vatican continue
to call for political talks as the only way to end the civil war.
On Wednesday,
as he mentioned the two kidnapped bishops, Pope Francis called "for an end to the
bloodshed," for the delivery of "necessary humanitarian assistance to the population"
and for a quick "political solution to the crisis."
In a public statement,
the Syriac and Greek Orthodox patriarchates of Antioch, to which the two kidnapped
bishops belong, stressed that the two prelates are "messengers of peace", as demonstrated
by their "religious, social and national work."
On this basis, the patriarchates
called on all Churches in the world to reject "all kinds of violence hitting the human
beings living in the East."
Similarly, they called on "our partners in citizenship,
from all Islamic confessions, to stand hand in hand and work on refusing the misuse
of man and deal with him as a product, a shield in the battles or a means for monetary
or political bribery."
The abduction of the two bishops comes at a time when
Western governments are increasingly convinced that Syrian rebels must be armed and
the Central Intelligence Agency is certain that the Assad regime used nerve gas, a
conclusion that could push the United States towards military intervention in Syria.