Elie Hobeika
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Elie Hobeika (22 September 1956 – 24 January 2002) (Arabic: إيلي حبيقة) was a Lebanese Phalangist and Lebanese Forces militia commander during the Lebanese Civil War, and former MP. Hobeika gained notoriety when, as the leader of the Phalangist forces, he was accused in directing the massacre in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps on the outskirts of Beirut in 1982. He is believed to have recruited "the Young Men", the gang who were involved in the killings.
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[edit] Personal life
Hobeika was born in Kleiat, Lebanon to a Maronite family. According to The Guardian, he was said to have been deeply influenced by the massacre of much of his family and of his fiancée by Palestinian militiamen at the Damour massacre of 1976.[1] In 1978, after leaving school, he joined the Banco do Brasil. At that time he was already involved with the Phalanges movement. He married Gina Raymond Nachaty in 1981. They had a son, Joseph.[1]
[edit] The Tripartite Agreement
The Tripartite Agreement was intended to end the Lebanese conflict. In December 1985, the various Christian militias, the Shiite Amal Movement and the Druze Progressive Socialist Party met in Damascus reaching agreement on political reforms as well as special relations with Syria. However on 15 January 1986, President Amine Gemayel and Samir Geagea organised a coup against Hobeika thus rendering the agreement null and void.[2]
[edit] Lebanese Civil War
Already in July 1977 Hobeika, then only known under the pseudonym "Chef Edward" led a massacre against civilians and Palestinian militants in the south Lebanese village Yarin, where about 80 people of which probably 20 to 30 were civilians were lined up in front of the school and shot.[3]
Over the next few years as support for the Lebanese Forces declined, and in 1984, Samir Geagea, Karim Pakradouni, and Hobeika forced the resignation of the then commander of the Lebanese Forces, Fuad Abu Nader. Fouad Abu Nader was considered too close to Amine Gemayel (Gemayel's nephew). Amine, unlike his brother Bachir was disliked by all the LF leaders. Elie Hobeika was named head of the LF after Abou Nader's removal.[citation needed]
Hobeika was besieged in his Qarantina headquarters by Geagea's men (Elias Murr was trapped with Hobeika in the same building) and was evacuated by Michel Aoun after strong US pressure. He and his supporters fled to Zahlé and were stationed there.In 1990 Hobeika supported the parliamentary faction against Syria in the war initiated by Michel Aoun.
After the civil war ended in 1990 Hobeika became Minister for the Displaced. In October 1992 he was appointed Minister for Social Affairs and the Handicapped. He was reassigned to the Ministry of Electricity and Water in 1996, a period which saw massive power projects in Baddawi and Zahrani, Zouk and Baalbeck, and massive electrical grid installation and distribution throughout Lebanon, including the outlying areas still in turmoil with Israeli Forces in the south, hence the progress was too slow compared to the massive increase in the Megawatts needed, since little electricity projects were accomplished over 18 years of civil unrest, mainly because of the Israeli Operation Grapes of Wrath. In 1998, General Emile Lahoud became president of Lebanon and appointed Selim Hoss Prime Minister. In 2000 Hobeika lost his parliament seat, due to active Syrian interference against him in the election.
In 1983, an Israeli state inquiry named Hobeika as the man who personally directed the Sabra and Shatila massacre. In June 2001, Chibli Mallat, a left-wing Maronite lawyer, filed a case against Ariel Sharon in Belgium under a law that allowed foreigners to be sued for crimes against humanity. Just before his death, Hobeika publicly declared his intention to testify against Sharon about his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacre in the Belgian court. Josy Dubié, a Belgian senator, was quoted as saying that Hobeika had told him several days before his death that he had "revelations" to disclose about the massacres and felt "threatened". When Dubié had asked him why he did not reveal all the facts he knew immediately, Hobeika is reported to have said: "I am saving them for the trial". At a news conference, he said, "I am very interested that the [Belgium] trial starts because my innocence is a core issue."[1]
[edit] Assassination
Hobeika was killed on 24 January 2002 at the age of 45 in a huge car bomb attack near his house in the Beirut suburb of Hazmiyeh, within 48 hours of agreeing to testify against Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Mostyn, Trevor, Guardian.co.uk, Friday January 25 2002
- ^ Hassan Krayem, The Lebanese Civil War and the Taif Agreement American University of Beirut
- ^ Tveit, Odd Karsten (1985) (in Norwegian). Nederlag. Israels krig i Libanon. Cappelen. pp. 47–50. ISBN 82-02-09346-5.
