Another Anti-Syrian Politician Is Murdered In Lebanon
September 21st, 2007
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief
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Insurance companies might consider dropping life insurance to politicians in Lebanon who are known critics of Syria. Yet another one has violently bit the dust:
Antoine Ghanem, the Christian MP murdered in a Beirut car-bomb attack, was a member of the anti-Syrian March 14 block which forms the backbone of the Western-supported Lebanese Government. His death has reduced the number of seats held by the block in the 128-member parliament to 68 — only three more than the Opposition, led by the militant Shia Hezbollah.
Government figures have blamed Syria for Mr Ghanem’s murder, a charge denied strongly by Damascus.
Damascus has been doing a lot of denying as the body count has been piling up:
Boutros Harb, a presidential candidate from the March 14 block, said “This is an attack aimed at sabotaging all efforts to reach a solution to the current political crisis. You cannot separate this killing from the presidential election.â€
The block’s surviving MPs are scheduled to convene on Tuesday to elect a new president to replace Emile Lahoud, a close ally of Syria whose term ends on November 24. But security fears have complicated even further a gruelling political stalemate over the identity of the next head of state.
Some 40 MPs belonging to the March 14 block have sought refuge in a wing of the heavily guarded Phoenicia Hotel — one of Beirut’ s grandest, more accustomed to hosting millionaire holidaymakers from the Gulf states. Since the beginning of the year, Fouad Siniora, the Prime Minister, and most of his Cabinet have been working and sleeping in the Grand Serail, a hill-top Ottoman-era army barracks that houses the Government’s offices.
The New York Times notes that moving into the Hotel is NOT a political ploy — but an effort to literally survive:
Lawmakers from the anti-Syrian governing party, the March 14 Movement, took refuge on Thursday in a landmark hotel near the Parliament building in downtown Beirut because they fear assassination plots aimed at eliminating their razor-thin majority in the House.
The move reflects just how terrified the legislators are after one of their colleagues, Antoine Ghanem, and six others were killed in a powerful car bombing near Beirut on Wednesday. Mr. Ghanem was the fourth member of Parliament and the eighth anti-Syrian figure assassinated since a huge blast killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, setting off a cycle of political crises.
“The problem is now the security of the M.P.s,†said Fares Souaid, a former lawmaker and leader in the March 14 Movement. “Our M.P.s are now locked inside the Phoenicia Hotel under the responsibility of the government and the Internal Security Forces. They will move under their supervision.â€
By staying alive, the members can protect a parliamentary majority that will enable the Western-backed coalition to elect one of its own as president. Deliberations will begin next week to replace President Emile Lahoud, who must step down on Nov. 25.
Prime minister Fouad Siniora’s pro-Western government has been enmeshed in a 10-month-long battle with the Iran and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition. And it’s believed the election of the President could help tip the scales.
“There is a Syrian terrorism against them because they want to elect a new president,†Mr. Souaid said.
In Beirut, crowds gathered to mourn the most recent loss which Lebanon’s worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war even worse. Many Lebanese expatriates are upset over the most recent murder. Analysts believe the murder is clearly aimed at destabilizing Lebanon and sandbagging the election. Lebanon’s Daily Star calls it a breaking point. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Prime Minister has called on the United Nations to help the government’s investigation of the assassination.
This entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 7:09 am and is filed under Mideast, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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