Samir Geagea

 

Samir Geagea, born October 25, 1952, leader of the right wing Lebanese Forces (LF) political party.

In 1994, Geagea was accused of ordering the bombing of Saydet Al-Najet church and the assassination of some Lebanese politicians during the war. He was acquitted in the church's case but given four life sentences in other cases. Geagea was pardoned and released from prison in the summer of 2005 after the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon.

 War period

Geagea was born in Ain el-Remmaneh in Beirut in 1952 to parents from the Maronite town of Bsharri in the mountains of Northern Lebanon. While studying medicine at the American University of Beirut, he became 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. He steadily rose through the ranks and led several daring operations at the request of Bashir Gemayel, then commander of the Phalangist militia (a right-wing movement advocating Maronite political supremacy in Lebanon). In 1978, under the order of LF Commander in Chief Bachir Gemayel, he led a Lebanese Forces commando to the region of Ehden where after many hours of combat, Tony Frangieh, the son of former President Suleyman Frangieh was killed. Many question how the events really went on, many state that Elie Hobeika continued the operation due to Geagea's injury. Geagea was wounded during this operation, and his hand was partially paralyzed as a result.


Geagea was appointed head of the Lebanese Forces' 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. This loyal following would later ensure his ascension. Geagea led his men in fierce battles against the Syrian Army during the siege of Zahle in 1980-1981. In 1983, he led the defense of the Shouf Region in central Lebanon that ended with defeat against an onslaught by various militias especially by those led by the later ally Walid Jumblat that were supported by the Syrian Army.


 Lebanese Forces
In 1984, Geagea and Elie Hobeika orchestrated an internal coup in order to end the leadership of Fuad Abu Nader in the Lebanese Forces. Abu Nader was considered to be too close to his uncle, president Amine Gemayel whose policies were not accepted by most LF leaders. In 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 agreement). Geagea transformed the LF into an organized force and was equipped by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.


In 1989, Geagea approved of the Taif Agreement which aimed to put an end to the Lebanese war. He controlled most State-owned entities such as the Beirut port where he raised money for his militia from import-export activities. He also extracted taxes from the Christian region, offered free open-heart operations, twinned Christians cities with foreign cities, substituting the role of the state. He also 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 pro-Syrian groups what made the access for Lebanese Christians almost impossible.


Geagea publicly aligned himself with Prime Minister General Michel Aoun after a failed attempt on Aoun's family residence in Rabieh in February 1989. When General Aoun launched the Liberation War against Syria on March 14, 1989, Geagea supported the Prime Minister's effort to free Lebanon from foreign forces. However, he later began to diverge away from that path. When Aoun asked Geagea to take a clear and honest position vis-a-vis the Taif Agreement and the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, he resisted violently. Just a few days after his visit to Aoun and his famous kiss on the cheek, Geagea and his Lebanese forces, (and under the pretext of opening a school that had not been functionnal for 15 years) Aoun and his "army" launches a surprise attack on the Lebanese Forces. The aggressions progressed to include massacres against unarmed civilians demonstrating to put an end to the acts of war on many front line sections, especially in Nahr El Mott. Cornered in his very diminished enclave Aoun allied himself with Hizbollah and the Pro Syrian militia leadr Elie Hobeika who were supplying him with weapons. The devastating military conflict between the Lebanese Army and the Lebanese Forces that started on January 31 came to an end on October 13, 1990 when the Syrian forces invaded the last sovereign region of Lebanon that was under the control of the Lebanese army.


The post-war period
Aoun was exiled to france on 13 October 1990 after leaving the Baabda presidential palace because it was under attack by the syrian air planes. This date is considered to mark the end of the civil war. Geagea was subsequently offered ministerial portfolios in the new Lebanese government several times, he refused them under the basis that the government was under Syrian control. There was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the Syrian presence or face persecution. Geagea refused to accept the Syrian demands and refused to leave Lebanon. In 1994, a bomb exploded in the Church of Sayyidet Al Najet and killed several worshippers. Geagea was suspected and arrested on charges 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, Dany Chamoun and his family, and Elias Al Zayeck. He was also accused of attempting to kill Minister Michel Murr. However, despite the long list, Geagea was not officially found guilty on any one of the charges.


During his incarceration, support for Geagea among Lebanese Christians remained high, and by some accounts has even increased. Despite widespread calls for his release by notable politicians and clerics, all Lebanese pro-Syrian governments refused to grant Geagea a pardon during the 1994-2005 period. For the majority of the Lebanese people, and the-anti Syrians, Geagea was an innocent hero paying the price for championing freedom. After the Syrian withdrawl in April 2005, the majority of the newly elected government signed for his release. The only opposition came from Hezbollah, who refused to participate in the parliamentary session. Geagea is said to have rejected an offer of a presidential pardon that would have restricted his ability to participate in political activity. Geagea was quoted as saying "I would prefer to remain in prison for another 20 years than bargain my beliefs for freedom."


The Lebanese Parliament passed law on 18 July 2005 to free Samir Geagea. The Lebanese Forces brokered an alliance with the anti-Syrians groups in Lebanon, including Saad Hariri, son of the slain former prime minister Rafik Hariri, and Walid Joumblatt.


Geagea was released from prison on 26 July 2005 and left Lebanon for medical tests. Upon his release he was quoted as saying "I have spent 11 horrific years in solitary confinement in a 6-square-meter dungeon three floors underground without sunlight or fresh air. But I endured my hardships because I was merely living my convictions,". He returned to Lebanon on October 25 (the day of his birth), and lived in the Cedars region in northern Lebanon until 11 December 2006 after which he moved to Bzoummar in Keserwan.

 

Samir Geagea during his first speech in freedom on 26 July 2005‎.