LEBANON: Another Dubious Step Towards Reconciliation

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Marianne Stigset

BEIRUT, Jul 29 2005 (IPS) - Notorious Christian former warlord Samir Geagea was released from prison earlier this week, in what politicians and media alike hailed as a milestone in Lebanon’s fledgling national reconciliation process.

"Geagea’s release turns a new page in Lebanese cooperation based on the principles of national unity, democracy, freedom, sovereignty and social welfare," member of parliament Butros Harb commented.

A veteran opponent of the Syrian presence in Lebanon who once allied with Israel during the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war, Geagea was the only warlord to be sentenced to jail once the guns had been silenced.

Whereas other militia leaders benefited from a general amnesty for crimes committed during the war, enabling most of them to take prominent political positions, the 53-year-old leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) received three life sentences in 1994 on several counts of murder, including the killing of former prime minister Rashid Karame.

Geagea’s 11-year incarceration catalysed the frustrations of a large segment of the Christian community, marginalised in a post-war era marked by the ongoing Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

His pardon follows the termination of Syria’s 29-year military presence in its neighbouring country, triggered by mass demonstrations and international pressure in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. Damascus was blamed for the killing but denies any involvement in it.

A bill for amnesty for Geagea was approved last week by 100 lawmakers of the 128-member newly elected parliament, of which the anti-Syrian bloc now forms a majority and the LF has six representatives, including Geagea’s wife Strida.

"You’ve been freed from a big prison and that’s what enabled me to be released from this little prison," an emaciated Geagea declared upon his release, in a reference to the Syrian occupation.

Admitting that his incarceration had been "very, very hard", Geagea urged the Lebanese to put the animosity from the civil war behind them and forge a future together.

"If a people one day wanted to live (in freedom), then fate will definitely respond, and it did respond," he said, adding that Lebanon needed "cooperation of a totally different spirit than the one that prevailed during the war years."

The man nicknamed the "hakim" (doctor) due to his unfinished medical studies, spoke before a crowd of 350 well-wishers, which included politicians and religious heads at Beirut airport.

Noticeably absent however, were Sunni, Druze and Christian leaders Saad Hariri, Walid Jumblatt and Michel Aoun, as well as any representatives from Hezbollah. Their absence reflected the controversy still surrounding a man seen as a hero among his Maronite Christian followers, and a ruthless killer by his critics.

"No more grudges, phobias, fear or intimidation," hailed An-Nahar editor and MP Gibran Tueni in his newspaper the following day. "This is a new chapter, which offers the Lebanese a golden opportunity to cement their unity, which, in turn, will eternally safeguard their independence and sovereignty."

His optimism was shared by the myriad of LF supporters seen celebrating on the streets of Beirut, as well as in Christian villages outside the capital. Champagne bottles popped open as fireworks resonated throughout the day and night among the euphoric crowds, many of them too young to remember much from the war years.

For others marked by the violence of the civil war however, there was little to rejoice about.

"I am a Christian, but still I can’t stand Geagea," said a man in his 40’s from Antelias outside Beirut. "All the militia leaders committed atrocities during the war, but he committed by far the worst ones. I will never forgive him for what he did. He hurt Christians and Muslims alike. He was a fanatic and I don’t believe he has changed."

Echoing the uneasy sentiment felt by some Lebanese was the left-leaning As-Safir newspaper owner Talal Salman’s front-page editorial, one of few to strike a critical tone regarding Geagea’s release.

"Congratulations to Samir Geagea on this victory…that has given him attributes he could not have dreamed of, going beyond heroism to sainthood, to a place in the Lebanese political club," Salman wrote. "But the Lebanese were hoping he would grow with their pardon to rise above himself, no matter how bitter, and utter a word of apology to his victims."

A fervently religious right-wing Maronite Christian, Geagea viewed his mission during the war years as that of protecting his community in a Muslim region, and he fought against Druze, Muslims and Palestinians. He harboured hope of eventually making Lebanon a federation in which each sect would run its own affairs.

He took command of the LF in 1985 after ousting his rival Elie Hobeika who had signed a peace agreement with Jumblatt and Amal Shiite leader Nabih Berri, making it the most powerful Christian militia force during the war.

He subsequently chose to back the Syrian-approved Taef Accord that ended the civil war in 1990 following a devastating battle with Christian Prime Minister Michel Aoun’s forces, which inflicted a heavy toll on the Lebanese Christian areas.

The political impact of his release remains to be seen – Geagea himself did not divulge any details regarding his future ambitions before boarding a plane to France with his wife, where he will be staying for a month for medical check-ups and convalescence. Although his speech stressed national reconciliation, some remain unconvinced that he has changed his ways.

"He will go for polarisation once he gets back into the political scene," a 38-year old Shiite businessman said. "He has to, it will be the only way for him to distinguish himself. He won’t just go along with the Jumblatt and Hariri coalition."

Others remain more optimistic about the role he might carve out for himself.

"I am not convinced he will seek sectarian polarisation, although it is too early to tell," said Michael Young, opinion editor of The Daily Star. "The question is how he will align himself in the Sunni-Shiite division that has emerged. Will he follow Aoun, who has placed himself closer to the Shiites? His speech indicated that he likely to go with Hariri (the Sunnis). But I don’t think he will confront Aoun in a bid to divide the Christians. It would not serve his interest – he would walk away with a lesser number of followers. If anything, I think he could try to act as a bridge-builder between Aoun, Hairiri and Jumblatt."

Geagea will be stepping onto a Lebanese political scene still struggling to get back on its feet after decades of Syrian tutelage.

The cabinet of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, painstakingly put together after weeks of negotiations and several failed attempts, is faced with tremendous challenges on all fronts.

Relations with Syria are at an all-time low, with Damascus having closed off its border to Lebanon, leaving hundreds of Lebanese truck drivers stranded at the border with perishing goods. The blockade is costing Lebanon an estimated 300,000 dollars a day.

The Syrians are demanding an official apology from its neighbours for the insults endured during the spring ‘liberation Intifadah’ as well as compensation for 37 of their workers killed during the anti-Syrian backlash which followed Hariri’s killing.

Adding to the tense environment is the international pressure exerted predominantly by the United States for the Lebanese government to comply with UN Resolution 1559 calling for the disarmament of all militia groups. The request essentially pertains to Hezbollah, which is now represented in the cabinet for the first time and remains adamant that it will hold on to its arms until Israel has returned the Lebanese territories it still holds and no longer constitutes a threat to Lebanon.

Hezbollah leaders have indicated that they will not recoil at entering armed combat, should any attempt be made at forcefully disarming them.

Meanwhile, bombs and targeted attacks on public figures remain a regular occurrence, heightening fears of further political and economic destabilisation of the country.

Lebanon’s road to national reconciliation still appears to be a long and rocky one.