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Lebanese Christian minister is assassinated
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| Marc Summers |
Anti-Syria politician Pierre Gemayel shot, killed driving in Christian suburb:
| quote: | BEIRUT, Lebanon - Prominent anti-Syrian Christian politician Pierre Gemayel was assassinated in a suburb of Beirut on Tuesday, his Phalange Party radio station and Lebanon’s official news agency reported.
The slaying will certainly heighten political tensions in Lebanon, where the leading Muslim Shiite party Hezbollah has threatened to topple the government if it does not get a bigger say in Cabinet decision-making.
Gemayel was shot in his car in Jdeideh, a Christian neighborhood, his constituency on the northern edge of Beirut, witnesses said. A car rammed his vehicle from behind and then a gunman stepped out and shot him at point-blank range, they said.
Gemayel was rushed to a nearby hospital, according to the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. and the Voice of Lebanon, the Phalange Party mouthpiece. The party radio later said he was dead, as did the National News Agency.
U.S.: Act of terrorism
In Washington, the State Department denounced the assassination as terrorism and an attempt to intimidate the governing coalition in Beirut.
"This is a very sad day for Lebanon. We were shocked by this assassination. We view it as an act of terrorism and we also view it as an act of intimidation," Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said.
Syrian however, condemned the assassination, calling the shooting a "despicable crime."
Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, broke off a televised news conference after hearing Gemayel had been shot.
In an interview with CNN, Hariri praised him as “a friend, a brother to all of us” and appeared to break down after saying: “We will bring justice to all those who killed him.”
Gemayel, the minister of industry and son of former President Amin Gemayel, was a supporter of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, which is locked in a power struggle with pro-Syrian factions led by Hezbollah.
Gemayel is the third prominent figure in Lebanon to be assassinated in the past two years. Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Saad Hariri’s father, was killed in a car bombing in February 2005, and lawmaker and newspaper manager Gibran Tueni was killed in a car bombing in December 2005.
Rising star in politics
Gemayel was first elected to parliament in 2005 and was believed to be the youngest lawmaker in the body, where anti-Syrian groups dominate.
He hailed from a prominent family of politicians. His father, Amin, served as president between 1982 and 1988. His grandfather, the late Pierre Gemayel, led the right-wing Christian Phalange Party that fielded the largest Christian militia during the 1975-90 civil war between Christians and Muslims.
Amin Gemayel was elected by parliament after the assassination of his brother, Bashir, who was chosen president but was killed a few days before he was to take office.
The Phalange Party dominated Christian politics for decades after Lebanon’s independence from France in 1943, and Amin Gemayel is its current leader.
Pierre was a rising star in the party and expected to carry the mantle of the political family.
During the civil war, the Phalange had the largest Christian militia that fought Muslim forces and Palestinian guerrillas. The death of the senior Pierre Gemayel in 1983, the shrinking Christian community, and internal dissent have seriously weakened the party, which could not get its own leader elected to parliament in 2000. |
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| Marc Summers |
I'm no ballistics expert, but the way those bullet holes are bunched up like that, it looks like it was planned very carefully and done very professionally.
Is Hezbollah really going to take over? What does this mean for the rest of the middle east? |
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| metalgearsolid |
| It means a big war in the Middle East. I expect Bush and friends to make this assasination as one of the reasons to make another war and more soldiers sent to the Middle East. |
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| tazzjayz |
| ANother civil war is inevitable, I just hope that in case it does occur that the goverment accepts US or Israeli help to get rid of hezbollah and friends because the Lebanese goverment itself does not stand a chance. |
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| Marc Summers |
| quote: | Originally posted by tazzjayz
ANother civil war is inevitable, I just hope that in case it does occur that the goverment accepts US or Israeli help to get rid of hezbollah and friends because the Lebanese goverment itself does not stand a chance. |
Lebanon needs hezbollah. |
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| malek |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
Lebanon needs hezbollah. |
:whip:
hezbollah needs to be exported to Afghanistan, they'll work well with the Talibans.:p |
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| B018 |
| quote: | Originally posted by malek
:whip:
hezbollah needs to be exported to Afghanistan, they'll work well with the Talibans.:p |
lol |
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| DJ_SideFx |
You want to know the best thing
The Syrian Press Agency SANA called the Lebanese Newspaper an Nahhar 55 minutes before the assasination to ask information about the assassination but since the killing wasnt done yet the Lebanese Newspaper didnt understand the Syrian Press inquiry.
SAMA called back the Nahar 10 minutes later saying that they made a mistake and booom 55 minutes after the assassination happens |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ_SideFx
You want to know the best thing
The Syrian Press Agency SANA called the Lebanese Newspaper an Nahhar 55 minutes before the assasination to ask information about the assassination but since the killing wasnt done yet the Lebanese Newspaper didnt understand the Syrian Press inquiry.
SAMA called back the Nahar 10 minutes later saying that they made a mistake and booom 55 minutes after the assassination happens |
source? |
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| DJ_SideFx |
Al Seyassah Newspaper
here is the article in arabic for those who understand
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| Sunsnail |
| eh, an imageshack picture... |
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| DJ_SideFx |
no i just cut it from the newspaper
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