Étienne Saqr ( ar, إتيان صقر; born on 26 December 1937; last name also spelt Sakr), also known by his kunya "''Abu Arz''” (), is a Lebanese nationalist leader and founder of the

Guardians of the Cedars The Guardians of the Cedars (GoC) ( ar, حراس الأرز; ''Ḥurrās al-Arz''; French: ''Gardiens du Cedre'' or ''Gardiens des Cèdres'', GdC) are a far-right ultranationalist Lebanese party and former militia in Lebanon. It was formed ...

militia and

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

(, ''Ḥurrās al-ʿArz'' in Arabic). Saqr and his militia participated in the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

in the 1970s and 1980s, and remained militantly active until he was expelled from the country with the flight of the

South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; ar, جيش لبنان الجنوبي, Jayš Lubnān al-Janūbiyy), also known as the Lahad Army ( ar, جيش لحد, label=none) and referred to as the De Facto Forces (DFF) by the United Nat ...

, of which he was not a member, in May 2000.

Early life and education

Saqr was born in

Ain Ebel ʿAin Ebel ( ar, عين إبل; Syriac: ), the ancient 'En Bol, is a village located in the Lebanese Upper Galilee in the Caza of Bint Jbeil in the Nabatiye Governorate in Lebanon. Etymology Historian Taissier Khalaf writes that the name of th ...

in 1937 into Maronite family, one of eleven children, of whom eight were boys and three were girls. His father was a school principal. Saqr was educated in French schools in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

and

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Career

Saqr joined the ''Sûreté générale'' (General Security Directorate) in 1954 and was involved in fighting against pan-Arab forces in the Lebanon crisis of 1958. He left the security services in 1969, went into business, and became politically active in Lebanese nationalist circles. He opposed the Cairo Agreement of 1969. Worth noting is the pan-Lebanese conception of the party whose members were drawn not only from Christian circles but Muslim and Druze as well. In the early 1970s, Saqr helped to organize the Lebanese Renewal Party, and in 1975 he formed the Guardians of the Cedars inspired by his 'nom de guerre' Abu Arz (father of the cedars) and made a coalition with the Israeli army in south Lebanon. The Guardians of the Cedars fought under the slogans "No Palestinian will remain in Lebanon" and "Lebanon, at your service". The Guardians of the Cedars joined the

Lebanese Front The Lebanese Front ( ar, الجبهة اللبنانية, ''al-Jabha al-Lubnaniyya'') or ''Front Libanais'' in French, was a coalition of mainly Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian intellectuals during the Leban ...

, a coalition of mainly Christian parties intended to act as a counter force to the

Lebanese National Movement The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ( ar, الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية, ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') or Mouvement National Libanais (MNL) in French, was a front of leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist p ...

Kamal Jumblatt Kamal Fouad Jumblatt ( ar, كمال فؤاد جنبلاط; 6 December 1917 – 16 March 1977) was a Lebanese politician who founded the Progressive Socialist Party. He led the National Movement during the civil war against the Lebanese Front. ...

and others. While Saqr objected to the Syrian intervention in 1976, the Lebanese Front accepted it. Saqr withdrew from the Front and the Guardians retreated to the mountains but continued to fight on the LF side in key battles, including East Beirut (1978) and

Zahlé Zahlé ( ar, زَحْلة) is the capital and the largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 150,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli and the fourth largest taking the whole urban area ...

(1981). In 1990 the Guardians of the Cedars were officially outlawed. Saqr was sentenced to seven years hard labour for collaborating with Israel but escaped to Jezzine in the Israeli security zone.Middle East International No 472, 1 April 1994, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Godfrey Jansen pp. 9–10 After Israel's withdrawal from the south in 2000, Saqr left for Israel. In an address to the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

a few days later, Saqr argued against the withdrawal saying Israel had "made heroes out of Hezbollah." He has been sentenced to death

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...

by a Lebanese court on charges of collaborating with Israel, and remains in exile in Cyprus.

Personal life

Etienne Saqr has two daughters who are both famous Lebanese singers, Karol Sakr and Pascale Sakr, and a son named Arz.

References

External links

Guardians of the Cedars – website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saqr, Etienne 1937 births Living people Lebanese Maronites People sentenced to death in absentia People from South Lebanon Lebanese nationalists Guardians of the Cedars politicians Lebanese exiles Lebanese Renewal Party politicians Lebanese anti-communists