Samir Geagea

Samir Farid Geagea
Samir Geagea after release in 2005
Born	October 25, 1952 (1952-10-25) Ain El Remmaneh
Residence	Maarab
Nationality	Lebanese
Education	baccalaureate; medical school dropout
Occupation	Politician
Home town	Bsharre
Title	Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Lebanese Forces
Predecessor	Elie Hobeika
Political party	Lebanese Forces
Religion	Maronite Christian
Spouse	Sethrida Taouk Geagea
Website
http://www.lebanese-forces.com/

Samir Farid Geagea (Arabic:سمير فريد جعجع , also spelled Samir Ja`ja`), born October 25, 1952, is a Lebanese politician. He is also a senior figure in the March 14 Alliance,^[1] alongside Saad Hariri and Amine Gemayel.

He took leadership of the Lebanese Forces in 1986. After the civil war, there was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the Syrian presence or face charges.^{[citation needed]} Prior to his arrest, he was contacted by several sympathetic politicians and warned about the forthcoming proceedings and offered safe passage out of Lebanon.^[2] In 1994, four years after the end of the Lebanese Civil War, Geagea was tried for ordering four political assassinations, including the assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987, and the unsuccessful attempted assassination of Defense Minister Michel Murr in 1991.^[3] He denied all charges, but was found guilty and sentenced to four death sentences, each of which was commuted to life in prison.^[3] Geagea was imprisoned in solitary confinement below the Lebanese Ministry of Defense building in Beirut for the next 11 years.^[3] He is the only Lebanese militia leader to have been imprisoned for crimes committed during the Lebanese Civil War.^[3]

Following the Cedar Revolution, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, a newly-elected Lebanese Parliament voted to grant him amnesty on July 18, 2005.^[3]

Early life and education

Geagea was born in Ain el Remmaneh, a suburb of Beirut in 1952 to a modest Maronite family from the town of Bsharri, Northern Lebanon. His father was an adjutant in the Lebanese Army. 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 a few years at the American University of Beirut and Saint Joseph University. After the outbreak of civil war in 1975, Geagea interrupted his studies. Although he would later continue his studies at Saint Joseph's University, Geagea never practiced medicine. 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.^[4] He is married to Sethrida Geagea.

War Period

Geagea steadily rose through the ranks and led several operations at the request of Bachir Gemayel, then commander of the Phalangist Kataeb Regulatory Forces militia. In June 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.^[5][6] 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 education while the military operation resulted in the murder of Tony Frangieh and his family. Geagea was later transported to a hospital in France.

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. In 1982-1983, Geagea commanded the Lebanese Forces against Walid Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party militia, the Palestinians, and the Syrians in a battle for control of the Chouf mountains in central Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces

Samir Geagea and daughter of William Hawi - Leila

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 Amin 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, one of the most advanced forces ever on Lebanese soil. 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.

The Post-War period

On October 13, 1990, Syria ousted General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace in Baabda. Aoun was heading an interim government which filled the void in the absence of a presidential election after the end of President Amin Gemayel's term in office. 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).^[7]

Relation with the Kataeb party

In addition to being the LF leader, Geagea retained his seat in the Kataeb Politburo. In 1992, 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.^[8] The committee was formed by several members of the Politburo and districts leaders loyal to the LF and Geagea.

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.^[9] The Syrians exploited the vulnerabilities of the amnesty law promulgated by then president Elias Hrawi for all the crimes and atrocities committed before 1990. This law also stated that any crime committed after that date will void the effect of the amnesty. On February 27, 1994, a bomb exploded in the Church of Sayyidet Al Najet (Our Lady of Deliverance) in the locality of Zouk killing 9 worshipers and injuring many. It is unknown who perpretated the bombing and it was ultimately attributed to some shadowy groups, but Samir Geagea was accused of the crime solely for the purpose of voiding the effect of the amnesty law of which he benefited, in the same way as all political and militia leaders from other communities and regions were benefiting despite their many unspeakable crimes throughout the Lebanese civil way.^[5][10] It must be noted that Samir Geagea's crimes had been particularly atrocious and heinous, which is one of the main reasons why he was the only leader to be framed and unjustly stripped of his legal amnesty. On March 23, 1994, the Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the LF and Geagea's deputy Fouad Malek was taken into custody.^[11] 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 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 and unjust.^[9][12][13]

Imprisonment

Geagea was incarcerated for 11 years in a small windowless solitary cell in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense in Yarze.^[14] His health status was jeopardized and he lost weight dramatically due to the unsanitary condition of the ill lit and poorly ventilated prison cell.^[15] He was deprived of access to media and the outside world and was only allowed to see his wife and close relatives. All of Geagea’s conversations were monitored and he was barred from talking politics with anyone.^[16]

For the duration of his incarceration, Geagea maintained that he meditated and reviewed his actions during the war to determine if what he did was right. He busied himself with reading literature, Hindu philosophy, Christian theology and mysticism namely the works of Jesuit priest Teilhard de Chardin.^[5][16]

Release

Leaders of the Cedar Revolution considered the Geagea trials and sentences to be unjust, politically motivated, and orchestrated by the vassal regime that ruled Lebanon during the Syrian occupation to oust Geagea from the political scene and dismantle the Lebanese Forces.^[17] When supporters of the Cedar Revolution won the majority in the 2005 parliamentary elections, they lobbied for an amnesty law to free Geagea from his disputed sentences.^[17]

The Lebanese Parliament passed an amnesty bill on 18 July 2005 to free Samir Geagea. It was subsequently signed by President Émile Lahoud.^[3] Geagea was released from prison on July 26, 2005 and he left Lebanon for medical care.^[18] He returned to Lebanon on October 25 (his birthday), and lived in the Cedars region, his ancestral home, 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.

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.^[19]

In September 2008, Geagea pronounced in front of thousands of rallying supporters in Jounieh a historical apology .^[16] The apology read:

"I fully apologize for all the mistakes that we committed when we were carrying out our national duties during past civil war years,... I ask God to forgive, and so I ask the people whom we hurt in the past."^[20]

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.^[21] 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.^[22]

See also

• Bashir Gemayel

References

1. ^ Abdul-Hussain, Hussain (2008-03-17). "Talking To: Samir Geagea". NOW Lebanon. http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=34956. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
2. ^ Al Alam, George (2010) (in Arabic) (Paperback). Al Maasara. p. 220. "President Hrawi tells Samir Geagea's associates, "I just returned from Damascus. The atmosphere is dark. A big storm is coming and I sensed something negative. I want you to go now and tell him to leave the country as soon as possible. Let him stay abroad for a while til we see what happens."" 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Amnesty for Lebanese ex-warlord, BBC News, July 18, 2005. Retrieved on 2009-07-07.
4. ^ Abraham, Antoine (1996). The Lebanon war. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 195. ISBN 0275953890, 9780275953898. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Azzam, Roger (2005). Liban, l'instruction d'un crime: 30 ans de guerre. Editions Cheminements. p. 765. ISBN 2844783686, 9782844783684. 
6. ^ Johnson, Michael (2001). All honorable men : the social origins of war in Lebanon. I.B.Tauris. p. 298. ISBN 1860647154, 9781860647154. 
7. ^ Lebanon's Cabinet Named, Then Boycotted. The New York Times, December 25, 1990. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
8. ^ Split Threatens Lebanon's Biggest Christian Party. The New York Times, January 16, 1993. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
9. ^ ^{a b} Ziad K. Abdel Nour. "Dossier: Samir Geagea Leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) movement" (.html). Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. http://www.meib.org/articles/0405_ld.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
10. ^ Blast in Lebanon Church Kills 9 and Injures 60, The New York Times, February 28, 1994. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
11. ^ Lebanon Detains Christian in Church Blast, The New York Times, March 24, 1994. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
12. ^ Samir Gea’gea’ and Jirjis al-Khouri: Torture and unfair trial, Amnesty International report, November 23, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
13. ^ Amnesty International. "Annual Report on Lebanon (1996)". Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation. http://www.clhrf.com/reports/amesty96.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
14. ^ UN Commission on Human Rights - Torture - Special Rapporteur's Report. United Nations Economic and Social Council, January 12, 1995. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
15. ^ U.S. Department of State (1996-03). "Lebanon Human Rights Practices, 1995". U.S. Department of State. http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1995_hrp_report/95hrp_report_nea/Lebanon.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 
16. ^ ^{a b c} Daragahi, Borzou (2008-12-15). "In Lebanon, rivals unconvinced by warlord's apology". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/15/world/fg-warlord15. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Radio Sawt Beirut International. "Lebanese Political Parties- Lebanese Forces" (SawtBeirut). http://www.sawtbeirut.com/lebanese-party/lebanese-forces.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-07. ^{[dead link]}
18. ^ Lebanese ex-warlord is released, BBC News, July 26, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
19. ^ Carter ., Terry; Lara Dunston, Amelia Thomas (2008). Syria & Lebanon (3 ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 436. ISBN 1741046092, 9781741046090. 
20. ^ Abdallah, Hussein (2008-09-22). "Geagea apologizes for LF's wartime 'mistakes'". The Dialy Star. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=96198. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 
21. ^ Geagea meets Chirac (in Arabic). As-Safir Newspaper, March 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
22. ^ Geagea from Washington: We Focused on Protection of Lebanon. Naharnet Newsdesk, March 12, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.

External links

• All About Samir Geagea
• Website about Samir Geagea
• Hussain Abdul-Hussain: Lebanon's Samir Geagea: A Maverick --Huffington Post--

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.
• Archive of Samir Geagea's Speeches

Persondata
Name	Geagea, Samir
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 25, 1952
Place of birth	Ain El Remmaneh
Date of death
Place of death