Hobeika - a crucial link is eliminated

On January 24, a bomb killed Elie Hobeika, a former Lebanese warlord, in the Beirut suburb of Hazmiyeh. Hobeika was one of Lebanon's most controversial figures. His death at the age of 45, came a day after he said he was willing to testify in the case filed in Belgium by Palestinian survivors of the Sabra and Shatila massacres, accusing Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon of crimes against humanity.

To prove his own innocence, Hobeika said in July last year that he was ready to testify against Sharon. He repeated his offer last week to visiting Belgian senators who called him a "key protagonist " who had offered to assist the inquiry "and described his death as an evident attempt to undermine the case".

Hobeika joined the Phalanges Party's militia at the age of 16. By the age of 24, he was leading the Lebanese forces military intelligence agency, allied with Israel.

In 1982, Hobeika commanded the militia which was accused of the massacre of more than 1,000 mostly defenceless Palestinian refugees at Sabra and Shatila camps, a day after Israeli troops entered the capital, Beirut.

Sharon was defence minister at the time. In December, 1985, he signed a tripartite agreement in Damascus with the Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, and the Amal leader, Nabih Berri, that aimed at ending the civil war.

In January, 1986, Samir Geagea, a commander of the Lebanese forces, led a movement that removed Elie Hobeika from command of the Lebanese Forces due to his improprieties and, above all, for having signed the "Tripartite Accord" with Syria.

In 1990, Hobeika's men fought alongside the Syrians against interim president General Michel Aoun, and in 1991, Hobeika benefited from an amnesty for crimes committed during the Lebanese civil war. He was elected to parliament in 1992 and rewarded with a number of ministerial posts.

The following is a review of a discussion of Hobeika's assassination by the Arab Press.

Dangerous game

According to Mohammed Al Rumeihi, writing in Al Bayan (UAE), Hobeika had played the Arab political game dangerously. The danger lies in switching from one side to another. And Hobeika finally died after a long delay of 20 years, Al Rumeihi adds.

It is not important to know who did this, but the crucial point is to see that political mistakes can drive the perpetrators to a series of acts that can only be stopped by assassination. Hobeika could neither keep the same enemies nor maintain the same allies, says Al Rumeihi.

That is why nobody wanted him alive, and everybody blessed his killing. This shows that his political itinerary was based on personal selfish motives, not on principles, adds Al Rumeihi .

There is no doubt about the implication of Hobeika in the Sabra and Shatila massacres that were largely reported in several books and documents, Al Rumeihi notes.

But Hobeika served in several Lebanese cabinets as minister and member of parliament despite the massacres of September 16 and 17, 1982, which seemed to have been forgotten. Another well known fact is the responsibility of Ariel Sharon in these massacres, and his probable conviction by the Belgian court.

Al Rumeihi says Hobeika affirmed to the media that he had secrets and revelations, without giving any clue that could confirm what he was saying. Hence, logical thinking will conclude that Hobeika was killed to prevent him from testifying. But it is important to realise that Israel cannot have perpetual allies as it keeps changing these, says Al Rumeihi.

The death of Hobeika could also have been orchestrated by a shadowy third party willing to confuse everyone and keep people from knowing the real murderer, Al Rumeihi says. Someone is trying to stop the Arab Summit scheduled to be held in Beirut in March, he adds.

The big question is, was the killing of Hobeika the end of a chapter or a beginning of a new one, questions Al Rumeihi.

Joseph Smaha writing in Assafir (Lebanon) asks a simple question: who would benefit from this crime? He adds that the evident answer is firstly, Ariel Sharon personally, and secondly, the Israeli political set up.

Hobeika made many enemies in Lebanon over a long and violent career, and became a burden to all the parties, Lebanese and regional, says Smaha. The man was certainly part of numerous battles, he fought and killed innocents, and it is difficult to overlook the role he played during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Hobeika became a hated figure among the Lebanese, notes Smaha, despite switching his allegiance to Syria, and his image as a war criminal was further tarnished by his refusal to admit his culpability during the civil war.

But it is most likely that his assassination was not an internal Lebanese matter. The timing of the operation connects it better with the trial of Ariel Sharon in Belgium, says Smaha.

In fact, all parties in Israel were unanimous in their support for Ariel Sharon in order to protect him, putting pressure on the Belgian government to stop this trial. Hobeika had a lot to say in his testimony. He had declared he would prove his innocence and Sharon's responsibility for the massacres.

Smaha believes the first objective would have been difficult to achieve, but the second might have been possible, trapping Sharon and Hobeika together. Smaha concludes that there are many people, apart from Hobeika, who could be embarrassing witnesses for Sharon.

He wonders if the assassination of Hobeika will make these witnesses speak up and clear their guilty conscience.

Asharq Al Awsat's editorial (a newspaper based in the UK) reports the unanimous position of all Lebanese parties in pointing to Israel as being the principal suspect in the assassination of Hobeika, who did this to eliminate a potential witness.

Thus, the ghost of Sabra and Shatila still haunts Israel, despite all its manoeuvres to absolve itself of these crimes. In fact, during the last few months, Israel could not hide its great dissatisfaction regarding the trial and the willingness of Hobeika to testify.

All these facts, adds Asharq Al Awsat, give Israel ample motive to want Hobeika dead. But the main question remains: does the disappearance of Hobeika necessarily mean that Sharon will not be convicted by the court in Belgium?

Spectre of massacres

Asharq Al Awsat concludes that Sharon will always be pursued by the spectre of the massacres and his involvement in them even after the elimination of Hobeika. There are certainly other voices that can reveal one of the darkest secrets of Lebanon's history, adds Asharq Al Awsat.

Khairi Mansour writing in Al Khaleej (UAE) points out that if Hobeika's killing benefits Israel, it also benefits the Lebanese parties who want the world to think that the Sabra and Shatila massacres were hundred per cent Israel's doings, while, in fact, there was Lebanese involvement.

Hobeika, writes Mansour, intended unveiling the secrets of the massacres by revealing facts and names not contained in the case filed in Belgium. Mansour explains that some of the Lebanese parties which had played an ambiguous role in the past wanted Hobeika dead as they did not want to be implicated in the massacres. It is a good time for the others involved to com