From Melbourne to Akkar, the name Haddara returns to the forefront from two different files in place and facts, but they meet at the sensitivity of the name and timing. In Australia, Fadi Haddara, the cousin of businessman and potential candidate for the parliamentary elections, Ahmed Amer Haddara, according to information, survived an assassination attempt that targeted him in front of his home in Altona North, in an attack that the Australian police described as targeted. Fadi is not an unknown name to the authorities there, as he was previously convicted and imprisoned in drug and weapons cases, while Australian security and media reports later linked him to the world of organized crime and the conflict over the illegal tobacco trade.
In Lebanon, the “exploits” of the other cousin appear different, but they become more sensitive as Ahmed Haddara approaches parliamentary eligibility in Akkar. The name that is being raised today in electoral accounts is surrounded by a series of recorded complaints and testimonies that he had previously published, and included very serious accusations that extended from weapons, drugs, and attempted kidnapping to threats, blackmail, and attempts to influence the judiciary.
The file did not remain in the media indictment. Khaled Farouk Haddara moved to the judiciary and, through his agent, filed a complaint against Ahmed Amer Haddara, his two brothers, and others, acting as a personal prosecutor for alleged crimes that include kidnapping, death threats, and blackmail. The judiciary also has materials, recordings, and testimonies before it that force the discussion to move from campaigns and responses to investigation and resolution.
Here the issue becomes as much political as it is judicial. Whoever wants to move to the House of Representatives will not only be asked about his electoral program and slogans, but also about the files that haunt him and the answers he provides to public opinion. The complaint may not be considered a condemnation, but it is also not permissible to ask the voter to ignore a series of accusations documented in complaints and testimonies simply because the person making them has become a potential candidate.
On the other hand, the Haddara family should not be reduced to these files. The family is a noble Akkar family, from which men and figures emerged who raised their name high in medicine, business, expatriation, and social work, and built a respectable presence for themselves and their family in Lebanon and abroad. An entire family is not held responsible for the actions of any individual.
The irony remains heavy: in Melbourne, a cousin is in the news after an assassination attempt and a proven criminal record; In Akkar, there is a potential candidate for parliament, with complaints and accusations multiplying around him, and his files are awaiting the word of the judiciary.
What is required today is neither the condemnation of Ahmed Haddara in the media nor his acquittal in politics. The files are required to be opened and resolved. Because the Akkar voter is not supposed to enter the ballot box in front of a candidate surrounded by all these questions without knowing where the rivalry ends and where the truth begins.
