Samir Geagea

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Samir Geagea

Born October 25, 1952
Residence Maarab
Occupation Politician
Home town Bsharre
Title Chairman of the Executive Committee
Predecessor Elie Hobeika
Political party Lebanese Forces
Religious beliefs Maronite
Spouse Sitrida Taouk Geagea

Samir Farid Geagea (Arabic: سمير فريد جعجع, also Samir Ja`ja`) born October 25, 1952 is the leader of the right wing Lebanese Forces (LF) political party. He led LF in the Lebanese Civil War and after the war he was tried and found guilty of four war-related crimes, including the assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister, in what Amnesty International called an "unfair trial [...] in a climate of political repression and intimidation."[1] He was given the death sentence which was later reduced to life in prison. Geagea was imprisoned for 11 years in solitary confinement for the alleged crimes but later pardoned by Lebanese Parliament after the Cedar Revolution and the end of the Syrian occupation. This Pardon was passed by the newly-elected Lebanese Parliament in 2005. He is currently one of the leaders of March 14 Alliance alongside Saad Hariri, Walid Jumblatt and Amine Gemayel.

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[edit] Early life and education

Geagea was born in Beirut in 1952 to a Maronite family from the town of Bsharri, Northern Lebanon. His father was an adjutant in the Lebanese Army and his mother a housewife. He attended "Ecole Bénilde" elementary and secondary school in Furn el-Chebek, which was a free private school. With the aid of a scholarship from the Khalil Gibran association, he studied medicine for two years at the American University of Beirut and then continued his studies at Saint Joseph University because of the war. He was an active member of the right-wing Phalangist Party, which became the main Christian fighting force upon the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.

[edit] War Period

Geagea steadily rose through the ranks and led several operations at the request of Bashir Gemayel, then commander of the Phalangist militia. In 1978, following the murder of a Phalangist party leader in the North Lebanon called Joud el Bayeh in a power struggle with former president Suleiman Frangieh, Bachir Gemayel ordered Geagea and Elie Hobeika to co-lead a unit to capture the suspects who were taking cover in Frangieh's mansion in Ehden. The convoy was ambushed on the way and Geagea was hit and admitted to Hotel Dieu hospital in Achrafieh where ironically he was doing his internship, his right hand was partially paralyzed and he never continued his formation while the military operation resulted in the murder of Tony Frangieh and his family.

Samir Geagea during the Lebanese civil war.
Samir Geagea during the Lebanese civil war.

Geagea was appointed head of the Lebanese Forces' militia northern Front in the early 1980s, where he commanded around 1,500 battle-hardened soldiers, drawn mainly from his native town of Bsharri and other towns and villages in Northern Lebanon. Geagea led his men in fierce battles against the Syrian Army in El-Koura, Qnat and during the siege of Zahle in 1980-1981. In 1982-1983, Geagea commanded the Lebanese Forces against Walid Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party militia, the Palestinians, and the Syrians in a ruthless battle for the control of the Chouf mountains in central Lebanon.

[edit] Lebanese Forces

On March 12, 1985, Geagea and Elie Hobeika orchestrated an internal coup in order to end the leadership of Fouad Abou Nader in the Lebanese Forces. Abou Nader was considered to be too close to his uncle, president Amine Gemayel whose policies were not accepted by most LF leaders. On January 15, 1986, Geagea became head of the Lebanese Forces after overthrowing Hobeika, who was widely accused of treachery in the Lebanese Christian sector for agreeing to a Syrian-sponsored accord (the Tripartite Accord). During the following year, Geagea meticulously rebuilt the LF into an organized, well trained and equipped military force. He established social security and public services to fill the void that was created by the war-crippled state administration. He also extracted taxes from the Christian region, offered free open-heart operations and twinned Christians cities with foreign cities in Europe and America and tried to open an airport in the Halat region because the Beirut International Airport (located in the west suburb of Beirut) was under the control of the Syrian forces which made the access for Lebanese Christians almost impossible.

[edit] The Post-War period

On October 13, 1990, Syria ousted Aoun from the presidential palace in Baabda. With Aoun out of the picture, Geagea was now the only leader in the Christian heartland. Geagea was subsequently offered ministerial portfolios in the new Lebanese government (formed on Christmas Eve) but refused them under the basis that the government was under Syrian control.[2]

[edit] Relation with the Kataeb party

In addition to being the LF leader, Geagea retained his seat in the Kataeb Politburo. In 1993, he ran for the Kataeb presidential election but lost to Georges Saadeh with whom the conflict grew. Later that year, Saadeh dismissed Geagea and all members of what was known as the "Rescue Committee" from the party.[3] The committee was formed by several members of the Politburo and districts leaders loyal to the LF and Geagea.

[edit] Arrest and trial

There was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the Syrian presence or face charges. Prior to his arrest, he was contacted by several sympathetic politicians and warned about the forthcoming proceedings and offered safe passage out of Lebanon. Geagea refused to leave. On February 27, 1994, a bomb exploded in the Church of Sayyidet Al Najet and killed ten worshippers.[4] The LF were suspected and on March 23, 1994, the Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the LF and Geagea's deputy Fouad Malek was taken into custody.[5] Geagea himself was arrested on April 21, 1994, on charges of ordering the church bombing, of attempting to undermine government authority by "maintaining a militia in the guise of a political party", of instigating acts of violence, and of committing assassinations during the Lebanese Civil War. He was accused of the assassinations of Former Prime Minister Rashid Karami, National Liberal Party leader Dany Chamoun and his family, and former LF member Elias Al Zayek. He was also accused of attempting to kill Minister Michel Murr. He was acquitted in the church's case but given four life sentences in the other cases. Amnesty International criticized Samir Geagea's trial and conviction, citing that it was politically motivated, unjust and done under Syrian interference.[1]

[edit] Imprisonment

Geagea was held for 11 years in a small windowless cell in solitary in the basement of the Ministry of Defense in Yarze in poor health conditions which made him lose weight dramatically.[6] He was also deprived of contact with the outside world through press, TV or radio.[7] Only his close family and lawyers were allowed to visit him. During the visits, a guard would monitor the conversation, interrupting it if a political topic was discussed. Members and followers of the Cedar Revolution considered the Geagea trials and sentences to be unjust and politically motivated, mainly orchestrated by the regime that ruled Lebanon during the Syrian hegemony period to oust Geagea from the political scene and dismantle the Lebanese Forces party. Ironically, many of the leaders in the March 14 coalition who orchestrated his removal from prison had been the same ones to acquiesce to his imprisonment during the years of Syrian occupation.

[edit] Release

When the Cedar Revolution won the majority in the 2005 parliamentary elections, they formulated an amnesty law to free Geagea from his disputed sentences, right after the 2005 elections.

A billboard of Samir Geagea in Lebanon.
A billboard of Samir Geagea in Lebanon.

The Lebanese Parliament passed a law in the form of an amnesty bill on 18 July 2005 to free Samir Geagea. It was subsequently signed by President Émile Lahoud. [8] Geagea was released from prison on July 26, 2005 and left Lebanon for medical tests. [9] He returned to Lebanon on October 25 (his birthday), and lived in the Cedars region in northern Lebanon until December 11, 2006, after which he moved to a hotel in Bzoummar in Keserwan. On June 30, 2007, he moved to a new residence in "Me'arab", Keserwan.

[edit] Current political activity

On the Lebanese political scene, Geagea and the LF are considered to be the main Christian component of the March 14 Alliance. Internationally, Geagea is trying to renew his relations with influential countries such as the United States and France. On March 19, 2007, he met French president Jacques Chirac in the Élysée Palace.[10] In March 2008, he held talks in the USA with officials at the White House, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, NSA Stephen Hadley and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia Gary Ackerman.[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Samir Gea’gea’ and Jirjis al-Khouri: Torture and unfair trial, Amnesty International report, November 23, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  2. ^ Lebanon's Cabinet Named, Then Boycotted. The New York Times, December 25, 1990. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  3. ^ Split Threatens Lebanon's Biggest Christian Party. The New York Times, January 16, 1993. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  4. ^ Blast in Lebanon Church Kills 9 and Injures 60, The New York Times, February 28, 1994. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
  5. ^ Lebanon Detains Christian in Church Blast, The New York Times, March 24, 1994. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
  6. ^ UN Commission on Human Rights - Torture - Special Rapporteur's Report. United Nations Economic and Social Council, January 12, 1995. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  7. ^ Lebanon Human Rights Practices, 1995. U.S. Department of State, March 1996. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
  8. ^ Amnesty for Lebanese ex-warlord, BBC News, July 18, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  9. ^ Lebanese ex-warlord is released, BBC News, July 26, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  10. ^ Geagea meets Chirac (in Arabic). As-Safir Newspaper, March 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  11. ^ Geagea from Washington: We Focused on Protection of Lebanon. Naharnet Newsdesk, March 12, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.

[edit] External links

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[edit] Videos

  • Best of Hakim Fi Zanzana Part of a documentary (in Arabic) on Samir Geagea's life in prison. It shows how raising a political issue between Geagea and his wife during her visit to him can result in the interruption of the visit.