Assaad Chaftari (also spelled Assad Shaftari,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: أسعد شفتري) served as a senior intelligence officier of the Lebanese

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

militia

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

. Chaftari was a close associate of

Elie Hobeika Elie Hobeika (also transliterated as Hubayqa; ; 22 September 1956 – 24 January 2002) was a Lebanese militia commander in the Lebanese Forces militia during the Lebanese Civil War and one of Bachir Gemayel's close confidants. He became infa ...

. He published a letter of apology to the Lebanese people in February 2000, in the national newspapers, for his war actions, he is now dedicated to promote personal change, peace building and reconciliation. Chaftari was a subject in Eliane Raheb's 2012 documentary, ''Sleepless Nights''. Chaftari wrote a book titled "La vérité même si ma voix tremble" in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, translated to

as " الحقيقة و لو بصوت يرتجف", in November 2015.

Biography

Born in 1955, Chaftari grew up in a

-speaking home in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

’s

Gemmayze district. In 1974, he joined the

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its parami ...

while he was in his fourth-year as an

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

student, one year before the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

started, when he received military training and helped to create the Kataeb's intelligence service. While in his 20s, he rose in the party to become the deputy to

. In 1985 He was one of the negotiators of negotiations which led to was called the Tripartite Agreement between the Christian Lebanese Forces, The PSP party of Jumblat and Amal of Berri under Syrians auspices. In 1988 he participated in a meeting held by the

Initiatives of Change Initiatives of Change (IofC) is a global organisation dedicated to "building trust across the world's divides" of culture, nationality, belief, and background. Initiatives of Change was known as Moral Re-Armament (MRA) from 1938 to 2001, and the ...

movement. Although he had initially been suspecting a hidden agenda, the meeting initiated a deep change in him. Asked to look back over his life, he saw "a path full of blood".Assaad Emile Chaftari
website of The Forgiveness Project, last accessed on 12 December 2021. He is currently an activist, member of movements and NGOs, including the coalition Wahdatouna khalasouna. and The Global Peace-builders Network. In 2012 during the clashes between the Sunni and Alawi communities in Tripoli,northern Lebanon he was one of 5 ex-fighters who organised a press conference addressing the new fighters and their politicians.They founded 2 years later an NGO called "Fighters for Peace". In 2019 he represented Fighters for peace in the founding of a Lebanese gathering called "Forum for Memory and Future".

External links

Washington Post article

References

Living people 1955 births Lebanese military leaders People of the Lebanese Civil War Lebanese Christians Lebanese Forces members {{lebanon-bio-stub

Biography

See also

External links

References