Christian Lebanese minister assassinated
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wednesday November 22, 12:08 AM Reuters
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Christian Lebanese minister assassinated*
By Nadim Ladki
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel,
an outspoken critic of Syria, was assassinated near Beirut on Tuesday,
security sources said.
Gunmen rammed their car into Gemayel's vehicle, then leapt out and
riddled it with bullets as his convoy drove through the Christian Sin
el-Fil neighbourhood, witnesses said. Gemayel, 34, was rushed to
hospital where he later died of his wounds.
Local television footage showed angry and weeping supporters gathering
at the hospital.
The killing is certain to heighten tensions in Lebanon amid a deep
political crisis pitting the anti-Syrian majority against the
pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah, which is determined to topple
what it sees as a pro-U.S. government.
"We believe the hand of Syria is all over the place," Saad al-Hariri,
son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, said from
Beirut shortly after Gemayel was shot dead.
"Syria strongly condemns the killing," the official Syrian news agency
SANA said. Hezbollah official Ahmed Melli said the Shi'ite group also
condemned it.
Gemayel, elected to parliament in 2000 and again in 2005, is the third
Lebanese anti-Syrian figure to be assassinated since Hariri's killing in
February 2005.
Gemayel, industry minister, was a member of the Christian Phalange Party
founded by his grandfather and the son of former President Amin Gemayel.
His uncle Bashir Gemayel was killed in September 1982 after he was
elected president during Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
Pierre, like his father and late uncle, was a strong opponent of the
influence of Syria, who many Lebanese blame for the assassination of
former prime minister Hariri.
Hariri's son Saad, who is parliamentary majority leader, interrupted a
news conference to announce the shooting of Gemayel. "They want to kill
every free person," he said.
"INTIMIDATION"
U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said it was 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," he said.
Anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea said on Friday efforts to
topple the government could lead to assassination attempts on cabinet
ministers.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Tuesday his depleted
cabinet was legitimate despite the resignation of six pro-Syrian
ministers, and warned that any anti-government protests could turn violent.
With Gemayel's death, the resignation or death of two more ministers
would bring down Siniora's government.
Pro-Syrian Hezbollah and its allies are preparing to take to the streets
to topple Siniora's government, which they accuse of being allied with
the United States, arguing that it has lost its legitimacy since Shi'ite
Muslims are no longer represented.
The depleted cabinet last week approved draft U.N. statutes for a
tribunal to try the killers of Hariri despite the resignations of the
pro-Syrian ministers.
Many Lebanese blame Syria for the killing of Hariri in a suicide truck
bombing last year. Damascus denies involvement. A U.N. commission
investigating the assassination has implicated senior Lebanese and
Syrian security officials.
(Additional reporting by Tom Perry and Yara Bayoumy)