The Guardians of the Cedars (Hiras Al-Arz) (MEIB Jan. 2003) is a Lebanese political party that was founded in 1975 by Étienne Sacre (also known as Abu Arz) (ibid.; CLHRF 3 Sept. 2003). Twenty-eight years later, Sacre still heads this organization (ibid.). He is also the leader of the Lebanese Front (WLO 5 Jan. 1998). Étienne Sacre currently lives in Israel, where he sought refuge after Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon (AFP 23 Aug. 2001).

Although journalist Habib Younès reported that the Guardians of the Cedars Party was disbanded in 1990 (L'Orient-Le Jour 2 Dec. 2002), other sources indicated that the movement still exists (ibid. 27 Dec. 2001; CLHRF 3 Sept. 2003). Today, the Guardians of the Cedars Party is the only opposition party in Lebanon that is not allowed to undertake any public activity (MEIB Jan. 2003).

No information on the structure or the membership procedures of the Guardians of the Cedars could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints for this Response.

Although Étienne Sacre refused to comment on the size of his political party (AFP 3 May 2000), it is estimated that the group consisted of approximately 500 men in the late 1980s (United States Dec. 1987).

In September 2003, Étienne Sacre described his party's ideology in an interview with the Lebanese-Canadian Coordinating Council (LCCC) (CLHRF 3 Sept. 2003). According to him, the Guardians of the Cedars is a lay movement that believes that the Lebanese people are a unique nation in the world, with 7,000 years of history (ibid.). He believes that Lebanon should expel foreign residents, in particular, Palestinians and Syrians (ibid.). Though Sacre wants "to build a professional army that believes in God and in Lebanon," he also hopes "to establish a secular state that has nothing to do with sectarian religious quotas and apportioning," which are prevalent in the country today (ibid.). He wants to reorganize the Lebanese Diaspora so that it becomes more influential, and he wants to ratify peace treaties with Israel and Arab countries bordering Lebanon (ibid.).

Because Étienne Sacre views Lebanon as a civilization that has nothing to do with the Arab world (Maaloufova Feb. 2001), he is calling for the "Lebanese language" to be adopted as the official language of Lebanon, and for the country to withdraw its membership in the Arab League (CLHRF 3 Sept. 2003). Sacre opposes the Taif Agreement, which he sees as "a bastard child of two non-Lebanese parents" (ibid.). In his opinion, the "Syrian occupation" of his country has empowered "terrorist and fundamentalist organizations" (ibid.). At a conference in Washington organized to raise awareness of the [translation] "current situation of 'Lebanese Christians,'" Étienne Sacre shared his vision of liberating Lebanon from Syrian occupation (L'Orient-Le Jour 2 Sept. 1998). In short, to the Guardians of the Cedars, [translation] "Syria is the enemy and Arabism is colonialism" (WLO 5 Jan. 1998).

Étienne Sacre has stated that all Palestinians should be driven out of Lebanon and sent to Syria (MEIB Jan. 2003). Before the Israelis withdrew, he proposed an autonomous security zone in southern Lebanon that would be protected by a militia modelled after the South Lebanese Army (SLA) (ibid.; Jerusalem Post 10 June 1999; MEIB Feb. 2000) until Syrian troops left the country (ibid.). Israel and the SLA refused to participate in any such "offensive action" (ibid. Jan. 2003).

While some accuse the Guardians of the Cedars of being an extremist right-wing Christian party, party members respond that they are calling for a secular state where all religions would be treated equally (Guardians of the Cedars n.d.). The Guardians of the Cedars say that a small minority of their members are Muslim (MEIB Jan. 2003).

However, one source referred to the Guardians of the Cedars as an extremist Maronite militia, indicating that they cooperated with the Phalangist Party during the civil war (United States Dec. 1987). The Guardians are seen as a "radical anti-Palestinian and anti-Syrian Christian" group (AFP 3 May 2000), as well as [translation] "a small pro-Israeli Christian group" (ibid. 2 June 2000).

An article in Monde diplomatique described the influence the Guardians of the Cedars have within the SLA (Nov. 1999). At the start of the Lebanese civil war (which began in 1975), approximately 400 dissident soldiers, supported by the Israeli Minister of Defence, Shimon Pérès, joined [translation] "300 Phalangist militiamen and members of the Guardians of the Cedar to form the Free Lebanese Army, which was later renamed the SLA" (Le Monde diplomatique Nov. 1999).

According to Christians and Jews for the Teaching of Esteem (Chrétiens et Juifs pour un enseignement de l'Estime, CJE), a non-profit organization based in Belgium and whose goal is to increase awareness of issues affecting the Jewish and Christian worlds, the Phalangists and the Guardians of the Cedars, along with other groups, destroyed a number of Palestinian camps in 1976 where hundreds of Palestinians died (n.d.).

Since the Israeli army withdrew from south Lebanon in May 2000, the Guardians of the Cedars have been forced to limit their activities to "the political and diplomatic arenas, always aimed at the liberation of Lebanon from the Syrian hegemony and its local agents" (CLHRF 3 Sept. 2003). The Guardians of the Cedars continued to demand that Palestinians be expelled, and they fought against Syria's political presence in Lebanon until the Christian Lebanese Forces, of which they were a part, were officially dissolved in 1993 (AFP 3 May 2000). However, the Guardians of the Cedars vowed to continue to fight in south Lebanon after the Israeli withdrawal, especially against Hezbollah and Syrian troops (ibid.).

In May 2001, Étienne Sacre met with Claudia Hajjar, Joseph Tok, Oussama Ayoub and Habib Younès in Cyprus to plan the re-establishment of the Guardians of the Cedars and to work with anti-Syrian movements in Lebanon (L'Orient-Le Jour 11 Dec. 2001).

The Lebanese authorities have "constantly cracked down on" the Guardians of the Cedars since the Syrians completed their "conquest" in 1990 (MEIB Jan. 2003). Members of the Guardians of the Cedars who have openly identified themselves as such, and even people who have met with Étienne Sacre, reportedly risk being assaulted and jailed by the authorities, and even being sentenced to a range of punishments, including the death penalty (ibid.). According to Amnesty International (AI), many former members of the Guardians of the Cedars were arrested by Lebanese security forces, and some of them received trials that fell short of international standards (1998).

In November 1993, Samir Nasr, a suspected sympathizer of the Guardians of the Cedars and of Israel, was detained at the Ministry of Defence, where he claims he was beaten and threatened (AI 1994).

In 1997, seven people (mostly members of the Guardians of the Cedars) were given sentences ranging from one to 15 years in prison by the military court in Beirut for having collaborated with Israel (ibid. 1998). Most of the defendants claimed they were beaten and forced to confess, but no independent investigations were ever launched (ibid.).

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) indicated that journalist Pierre Atallah was sentenced to three years in prison, partly for his interviews with Étienne Sacre (2 June 1997). Atallah was allegedly beaten by plainclothes security agents (MEIB Jan. 2003). According to the Lebanese authorities, he [translation] "had attempted to publish a newspaper insert that would provoke internal conflict in Lebanon, and statements that would damage relations between Lebanon and its neighbouring state, Syria" (RSF 2 June 1997).

In June 2000, the military court in Beirut issued arrest warrants against 379 former SLA militiamen for collaboration with Israel (AFP 2 June 2000). Close to 6,500 former SLA militiamen and members of their families sought refuge in Israel from reprisals by the Lebanese authorities (ibid.). Étienne Sacre was accused of [translation] "having contacts with the Israeli enemy, illegally entering Lebanon, creating an association to undermine the authority and prestige of the government, damaging relations between Lebanon and a neighbouring state, and providing information to the Israeli enemy" (L'Orient-Le Jour 11 Dec. 2001). The leader of the Guardians of the Cedars was originally sentenced to death in absentia (AFP 23 Aug. 2001), but his sentence was later commuted to 15 years in prison (ibid. 2 June 2000). Sacre was also stripped of his Lebanese civil rights (Cedarwatch 13 Apr. 2002; AFP 16 Apr. 2002).

Amnesty International requested that the Lebanese authorities investigate the allegations of torture and forced confessions of anti-Syrian Christian activists (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 16 April 2002. "Des militants chrétiens anti-syriens vont être jugés en appel." (Courrier AFP)

_____. 23 August 2001. "Poursuivis pour liens avec Israël, 2 journalistes libanais risquent la mort." (Courrier AFP)

_____. 2 June 2000. "Mandats d'arrêt contre 379 ex-miliciens pro-israéliens." (Courrier AFP)

_____. 3 May 2000. "Radical Lebanese Christian Group to Stay on Fighting After Israeli Pullback." (Dialog)

Amnesty International (AI), London. 1998. "Lebanon." Amnesty International Report 1998. http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar98/mde18.htm [Accessed 11 Dec. 2003]

_____. 1994. "Lebanon." Amnesty International Report 1994. http://www.unhcr.ch [Accessed 11 Dec. 2003]

Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation (CLHRF). 3 September 2003. "Interview with the Leader of the Guardians of the Cedars Party." http://www.clhrf.com/guardians/abuarz4.9.03.htm [Accessed 11 Dec. 2003]

Cedarwatch, Human Rights for Lebanon, Sydney. 13 April 2002. "Lebanon: Vacuum of the Vanquished." http://www.lebanese-forces.org/hr/Reports/Stanton04.13.02.htm [Accessed 15 Dec. 2003]

Chrétiens et Juifs pour un enseignement de l'estime (CJE), Chastre, Belgium. n.d. "Sabra et Chatila replacés dans le contexte de l'époque." http://www.chretiens-et-juifs.org/article.php?voir%5B%5D=571&voir%5B%5D=7187 [Accessed 15 Dec. 2003]

Guardians of the Cedars. n.d. "Smear Campaign Targeting the Guardians of the Cedars." http://www.gotc-se.org/statements/Smear_campaign.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2003]

The Jerusalem Post [Jerusalem]. 10 June 1999. "Christians Propose Autonomy for Security Zone." http://www.jpost.com/com/Archive/10.Jun.1999/News/Article-6.html [Accessed 15 Dec. 2003]

Maaloufova, Beatrice. February 2001. The Republic of Lebanon After Taif: An Analysis of Four Scenarios on the Emergence of a New Lebanon. http://www.vuw.ac.nz/atp/articles/maaloufova_0105.html [Accessed 15 Dec. 2003]

Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (MEIB) [New York]. January 2003. Vol. 5, No. 1. Mordechai Nisan. "Dossier: Étienne Saqr (Abu Arz) - Head of the Guardians of the Cedars." http://www.meib.org/articles/0301_ld.htm [Accessed 15 Dec. 2003]

_____. February 2000. Vol. 2, No. 2. Gary C. Gambill. "Assassination of Akl Hashem May Presage Demise of SLA." http://www.meib.org/articles/0002_l1.htm [Accessed 15 Dec. 2003]

Le Monde diplomatique [Paris]. November 1999. Walid Charara and Marina da Silva. "Résistance obstinée au Liban Sud." http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1999/11/CHARARA/12643 [Accessed 11 Dec. 2003]

L'Orient-Le Jour [Beirut]. 2 December 2002. Michel Hajji Georgiou. "Interview - Libéré après 15 mois de détention, le journaliste 'd'al-Hayat' reste rongé par un profond sentiment d'injustice." http://www.lorient-le-jour.com.lb [Accessed 2 Dec. 2002]

_____. 27 December 2001. "Justice - Plusieurs inculpés ne sont pas présentés au tribunal militaire : les procès Hindi, Bassil et Younès reportés à février 2002." http://www.lorient-le-jour.com.lb [Accessed 27 Dec. 2001]

_____. 11 December 2001. "Justice - Publication d'un deuxième acte d'accusation dans l'affaire des contacts présumés avec Israël : peines de mort requises contre Habib Younès, Antoine Bassil, Étienne Sacre et Antoine Saba." http://www.lorient-le-jour.com.lb [Accessed 11 Dec. 2001]

_____. 2 September 1998. "Congrès à Washington sur la situation des chrétiens du Liban."

http://www.wlo-usa.org/FR/Actualites/OJ_Congres_OLM_9_2_98.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2003]

Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris. 2 June 1997. La Lettre de Reporters sans frontières. No. 106. "Un juge d'instruction militaire requiert trois ans de prison contre Pierre Atallah..." http://www.calvacom.fr/rsf/ [Accessed 4 June 1997]

United States. December 1987. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. "Appendix B - Lebanon." Lebanon: A Country Study. http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/lebanon/lb_appnb.html [Accessed 15 Dec. 2003]

World Lebanese Organization (WLO), New York. 5 January 1998. "Dans deux déclarations qualifiées 'd'invraisemblables' par les nationalistes, Aoun prône la 'compréhension' avec la Syrie et l'adhésion à 'l'arabisme'!" http://www.wlo-usa.org/FR/Actualites/Aoun_1_5_98.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Dialog

The Europa World Year Book 2003

Extremist Groups 2002

IRB Databases

Quid 2003

Internet sites, including:

Ananova

BBC

CNN

Freedom House

Human Rights Internet (HRI)

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Lebanese-Canadian Coordinating Council (LCCC)

Le Monde

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

United States Department of State

US Agency for International Development