The letter stipulated that under this law American aid to these governments and authorities should “take into consideration the willingness of these governments and authorities to assist in locating and securing the return of these soldiers.”
Under the law, the State Department must report to the House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committee within 15 days of any meeting with officials from Syria, Lebanon or the Palestinian Authority regarding the MIAs.
The law relates to all Israeli MIAs, including Israel air force navigator Ron Arad.
Lantos’ letter focused specifically to the fate of Zacharia Baumel, a U.S. citizen, who together with soldiers Zvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz have been missing since the 1982 tank battle between the Israel Defense Force and Syrian-Palestinian forces in Lebanon.
“There is concern that this issue will not be raised in the second round of talks between Syria and Israel, despite the promise of Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the obligations of the U.S. administration,” Grisaro said.
“Therefore we see the letter by Lantos as an expression of support from U.S. legislators to press all the sides to resolve this humanitarian issue.
Lantos also sent a letter Monday to the Australian Justice Ministry, urging to government to prosecute Nazi war criminals who live there.
The issue came up last week when Konrad Kalejs returned to Australia after being deported by Canada, the United States and Britain. Kalejs is accused of belonging to the notorious Arajs Kommando squad, responsible for 30,000 deaths in Latvia during World War II.
Lantos called on Australian Justice Minister Amanda Vanstone to re-establish the special investigations unit, an office responsible for investigating suspected war criminals.