“The Canadian government has drawn up a secret list of former “Israeli” allied militiamen suspected of war crimes.
The list, containing the names of 35 former militiamen, has been quietly circulated among a handful of countries, mainly European, which “Israel” has asked to accept militia refugees and their families.
The secret document, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Star, lists the names of the staff at Khiam prison, including the heads of the jail, those in charge of interrogations and the guards.
The list was compiled by Canada’s Royal Mounted Police and drew upon Lebanese “community sources.”
“These persons are alleged to have been operating in Khiam prison in southern Lebanon, responsible for investigating and interrogating Hizbullah activities in that region,” the document said. “The prison is associated with extensive and serious human rights abuses, including torture, executions, and arbitrary detentions.”
The list has reinforced the reluctance of some European governments to take in large numbers of former militiamen due to their activities in the militia and because they may be the target of revenge attacks.
“It’s fair to say that generally most countries that have been approached by “Israel” are very reluctant to accept the collaborators,” one European diplomat said.
The bulk of the names are from the villages of Qlayaa, Marjeyoun and Kfar Kila. One former guard, originally from Qlayaa, is already living in Sweden, according to the document.
Some 6,000 militiamen and their families fled to “Israel” when the occupation collapsed, fearing revenge at the hands of advancing resistance fighters.
The militiamen have been temporarily housed in 40 different locations in Galilee. The “Israelis” pay a basic stipend to each family as well as paying for their accommodation.
Around 3,000 of the refugees are expected to resettle abroad.
Denmark, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States have all been asked by “Israel” to accept groups of refugees. Each group consists of between 20 to 50 former militiamen and their families.
So far, only Germany has agreed to take in the former militiamen. Forty collaborators and their families left “Israel” for Germany at the end of July.
Guido Hildner, charge d’affaires at the German Embassy, said the decision to accept the refugees was based solely on “humanitarian considerations.”
“Of course, if there are any allegations of them having engaged in war crimes or human rights abuses, they will be prosecuted. German courts are entitled to try war criminals and they will do so,” Hildner said.
He added that the refugees’ stay in Germany had been limited to one year, after which their status will be reassessed.
The UN High Commission on Refugees has ruled that there is no case for the immediate relocation of the collaborators from “Israel” as the “Israeli” government has granted them one-year residence visas and promised to view with favor any subsequent requests for citizenship.
Holland and Switzerland are the only countries to have openly refused the collaborators.
“There is a feeling that they don’t meet the criteria (as refugees) because they are already in a country that can give them residency,” a Western diplomat said.
The Dutch government said that “Israel” is the most appropriate home for the militiamen for the time being.
“The collaborators have nothing to fear in “Israel”. According to international statutes, there is no reason to expect other countries to take them in,” said Michel Rentenaar, the Dutch charge d’affaires.
A statement from the Dutch Foreign Ministry said that ““Israel” is responsible for the former militiamen, who in fact have worked for “Israel” for many years.”
Some of the former militiamen have undertaken their own visa applications to other countries, especially those with relatives living abroad.
For the rest, “Israel” reportedly is offering groups of the collaborators to various countries without naming the individuals, creating concerns that suspected war criminals are in the mix.
“Everyone points out the danger of war criminals slipping through, that’s why it’s utterly important to investigate every militiaman who wants to come into your country,” a European diplomat said.
“There is an issue of public safety here: who will safeguard them from vendettas,” he added.
Many of the countries earmarked by “Israel” to take in the agents have sizable lebanese communities ­ Germany has accepted 60,000 Lebanese from the South over the past two decades, most of whom are unlikely to view the collaborators arrives with much sympathy.
“If a nephew wants to avenge his uncle’s death and he has a few thousand dollars then it wouldn’t be hard to achieve. Although it’s hard to assess the risk, it’s there nonetheless. No country wants to have to deal with that,” the European diplomat said.
Several diplomats raised the possibility that Lebanon could block “Israel’s” efforts to transfer the agents to other countries by demanding the return of the militiamen to stand trial.
The government could issue international arrest warrants through Interpol, the international police authority, for individuals wanted by the authorities in Lebanon, they said.
Although it is unlikely that the wanted militiamen would find themselves in a situation whereby they could be extradited to Lebanon, the existence of the arrest warrants would frustrate “Israel’s” attempts to resettle the refugees.
But Prime Minister Salim Hoss said that the government had no plans to issue arrest warrants for the agents.
“There’s been no effort in this direction,” he said, adding that any effort to seek the refugees’ return “depends on the future.”
One European diplomat said that “Israel” would have to arrange deals with countries with relatively open immigration policies ­ Canada, Australia, New Zealand and some South American countries ­ but not most European nations.
“If they arrive in somewhere like Bolivia or Paraguay, nobody will ask many questions especially if they are carrying a suitcase full of dollars,” a Western diplomat said.

The Daily Star, 22-8-2000.