Ladies and Gentlemen
A lot has been said today about
the state of Human Rights in Lebanon, seen through the
case of Dr Samir Geagea. You heard about the abuse of
individual rights, the biases of the Lebanese Judiciary,
about torture, illegal arrests and inhumane detention.
This is unfortunately the
reality of the condition of Human Rights in Lebanon
today.
I would like now to approach the
subject from a political perspective highlighting the
detrimental effect of Dr Geagea’s imprisonment on the
overall political situation in Lebanon and even in the
region, and the importance of his release for the
restoration of a democratic and sovereign Lebanon.
Allow me first, to briefly
describe the background of the Lebanese Problem:
When analyzing the history,
modern and ancient, of Lebanon, particularly the history
of Lebanese conflicts and wars, one can easily note that
the repeated Lebanese crises are the results of 2 major
factors:
- Internal: the confrontation
between the 2 main religious/cultural components of the
Lebanese society, i.e. Muslim and Christian
- External: the harmful foreign
interventions of other states or powers in Lebanon,
usually in support of one Lebanese group against
another.
Specifically, and regarding the
recent Lebanese War, starting in the early seventies, we
witnessed:
- on the domestic side, a
rebellion coming mainly from the Moslem groups, Sunnite
then Shiite, calling for a larger share in the
government,
- on the foreign side, multiple
destructive intrusions from different parts of the
Middle East: Syria, Iran, Libya, Iraq, the PLO, Israel,
and even from as far as the former Soviet Union, pouring
fighters, weapons, ammunitions, and other means of
destruction.
One can easily deduct then that
a lasting solution to the Lebanese Problem resides in:
- stopping the damaging foreign
interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs
- eliminating the imbalance in
power-sharing and governance
It is amidst this turmoil that
in 1986, Dr Samir Geagea, a Lebanese Physician, assumed
the leadership of the Lebanese Forces, the Lebanese
Resistance defending at the time the free area of
Lebanon.
Geagea strongly believes in
institution building and accountability. From this
perspective, he began to restructure the LF, by
re-organizing, and re-training the military units, under
a comprehensive rehabilitation program, which sometimes
took up to 2 years to complete.
But the reform process
undertaken by Dr. Geagea was not limited to the
military. He established a civilian administration for
the free area of Lebanon, in the absence of a state
authority, to provide multiple services for the
population from police and law enforcement services to
health and educational assistance, affordable public
transportation, welfare support, etc.
Politically, Samir Geagea
believed in a solution for Lebanon based on 3
fundamental principles, which he outlined later in the
LF Party Statement of Principles, namely:
- The Sovereignty of the
Lebanese State
- The Pluralistic nature of the
socio-political system
- The Sanctity of basic human
freedoms
So in 1989 when Lebanese
Parliamentarians met in the city of Taef Saudi Arabia,
under Arab and International auspices including the
United States to search for an end to the Lebanese War,
and when they drafted a “Document of National Entente”,
the so-called Taef Accord, based on the sovereignty,
equal power-sharing and pluralism, and the respect of
human rights and freedoms, Samir Geagea saw a window of
opportunity to turn the page on the Lebanese Tragedy and
start a new era of stability and peace in Lebanon.
In addition, the Accord set an
agenda to achieve national reconciliation including a
general amnesty to cover the period of the war, and the
formation of a government of national unity to
incorporate all the different Lebanese factions.
Samir Geagea was the first
Lebanese leader to disband his militia, and turn it into
a political party, in the hope of joining the democratic
process, and, as such, he had a pivotal role in ending
the state of war in Lebanon.
But in 1990, Syria invaded the
totality of Lebanon and gained control of the country’s
national decision and has been intervening in all forms
of Lebanese daily life, whether social, financial,
political or any other.
Since then, Lebanon has
witnessed a reversal in the process of the
implementation of the Taef Accord: no withdrawal of
foreign forces, no disarming of militias, no
sovereignty, no amnesty, no reconciliation, basically no
end to the Lebanese War, and a perpetuation of the
conflict.
Faced with the clear implication
of the Syrian plan, Geagea resolved to resist Syria's
campaign to subjugate Lebanon with all peaceful means at
his disposal. He twice rejected ministerial positions
offered by the Pro-Syrian Lebanese Government. The LF
refused to participate in the 1992 parliamentary
elections, arguing that Syria's heavy military presence
in the country precluded a free and fair electoral
process, a truth that rings loud today from the mouths
of world leaders.
In 1994, following the bombing
of a Church, Dr Geagea, was arrested, illegally and
unfairly sentenced, and since then, imprisoned in
solitary confinement in the Ministry of Defense.
Starting with the banning of the
LF and the jailing of Samir Geagea, there has been a
significant deterioration in the state of Democracy and
Human Rights in Lebanon.
Leaders of the Opposition have
been ruthlessly persecuted and silenced through:
jailing, forced exile, threats, harassments, and even
assassinations
Political parties, Human Rights
Organizations, gatherings, and sometimes religious
services have been banned
The Media is muzzled; TV
stations are forcefully shut down or severely penalized
when critical of Syria,
Individual freedoms are
constantly violated, and arbitrary arrests, illegal
detention, torture and death under torture became common
practice.
In Lebanon today, 3 major
non-Lebanese powers still exert significant influence on
Lebanese soil.
-The Syrians who still have
military units in various parts of Lebanon, and an
unknown number of “Moukhabarat” (or military
intelligence).
-The Palestinians who number
around 400,000 which is more than 10% of the Lebanese
population, estimated at 3.6 millions. They live in
military camps located in different parts of the
country, but outside the Lebanese State’s authority.
Most are refugees but many are militants who form a
“State within a State”, harboring extremists,
terrorists, criminals and outlaws.
-The Iranians who interfere in
Lebanese internal affairs by supporting Hizballah,
financially and militarily, in coordination with Syria.
On the domestic side, the shift
in the balance of power-sharing disfavoring Christians
Parties and representatives, coupled with a lack of
democracy and freedom, and aggravated by the foreign
interventions mentioned above, is having detrimental
results on the Lebanese National scene, leading to:
1. An atmosphere of extremism
and fanaticism, and a culture of violence
2. A flourishing of terrorism
and terrorist organizations like Hizballah, Palestinian
Islamic Jihad, Hamas, PFLP-General Command, and
Osbat-el-Ansar linked to Al Qaeda. All of these are
included in the US terrorist organizations list.
3. A climate of instability in
different parts of the country starting from the south
on the Israeli border, but also around major cities like
Saida, Tripoli and Beirut, where clashes for local
control between Pro-Syrian Lebanese armed factions,
supposedly disarmed, happen quite often.
4. An anti-Western and
specifically an anti-US attitude, promoted sometimes by
Lebanese government officials.
Violence against US citizens and
US interests are worth mentioning, such as the murdering
of the Missionary Bonnie Penner Witherall and the
bombing of US franchises: McDonald and KFC.
5. Civil unrest caused by large
popular feeling of resentment in the country. Surveys
and Polls have shown that more than 40% of the Lebanese
residing in Lebanon wish to leave.
6. Socio-Economic trouble: 30%
of Lebanese live under the “Poverty Line”, according to
governmental data. And unemployment is around 14% in the
general population and 28% in the young segment of the
population (18-45 years old).
7. Corruption and bribery
practices. Lebanon ranks among “the very corrupt states”
according to Transparency International.
Fortunately, starting in 2004,
and thanks to the better understanding of the Lebanese
situation by the USA and by Europe, in particular
France, and influenced by the opinions and the expressed
will of the citizens of Lebanese origin,
Lebanese-Americans, Lebanese-Europeans, a Resolution was
passed in the UNSC on September 2,2004 Res 1559 which
calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces, the
disarming of all militias, the respect of the Lebanese
Constitution and the rectification of the electoral
process.
And following the assassination
of ex-Premier Rafic Hariri on February 14, 2005, an
independence uprising, also called Cedar Revolution, was
started in Lebanon. Syria the main occupier is now being
forced to withdraw from Lebanon. So there is finally
hope that the foreign interference may end.
But let us not forget that to
build a stable Lebanese Nation, it is crucial to achieve
true national reconciliation and to respect the human
dignity, and the civil and political liberties.
My friends,
The long list of tragic events
in Lebanon after the Taef accord up until the killing of
Rafic hariri started with the persecution of the
Lebanese Forces Party and the jailing of Samir Geagea.
Similar to the historic turning points that took place
in Africa and in Europe with the freeing of Nelson
Mandela and Lesh Walesa, the liberation of Dr Geagea
could reverse the long process of oppressing the free
will of people of Lebanon.
And then Lebanon could truly
join the community of democratic and free nations and
become again a beacon of progress and prosperity in the
Middle East.
Thank you
