Introduction by Dr. Joseph Gebeily

Lebanese Information Center

Someone once said “The Problem of the Middle East is the problem of its minorities”.
 

For decades, minorities and various people in the Middle East, from all ethnic and religious sects who aspired to a democratic way of life have been brutally crushed by dictators.

Extremism and Totalitarianism fueled by these dictatorships have swept the Middle East transforming its cultures and sending those who opposed it to death, to prison or to exile.

Such is the case of Lebanon.

Lebanon became the first democracy in the Middle East in 1926.

Its political system was modeled after a European style democracy. Lebanon had the first parliament in the region. Soon, Lebanon became a haven for free speech, free thought and a place of converging cultures and civilizations.

But not anymore.

Since 1990, and after a total military invasion by Syria, there has been a constant decline in the freedom and liberties in Lebanon.

One example is what happened to Dr. Samir Geagea.   The unlawful arrest and unjust trial of Dr Samir Geagea in April 1994 marked the lowest ebb in Lebanese politics, and what has happened since then clearly demonstrates the abuse and violation of human rights that can take place in a country where the independence and integrity of the democratic institutions are undermined and hijacked by foreign occupation, namely the Syrian Forces.

Many Human Rights groups, Lebanese political leaders, Church figures insist that the release of Dr Samir Geagea “is an imperative precondition” for a national reconciliation that lowers the curtain on the lingering legacy of Lebanon’s civil war.

Nevertheless, Dr. Geagea remains incarcerated for the sake of what he represents - A Lebanon that is sovereign, democratic, open and progressive. The only hope that remains is to raise the attention of the International community, particularly in the United States.