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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Lebanon: Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel Assassinated | |
| 2006-11-21 | |
| Beirut, 21 Nov. (AKI) - Lebanon's Industry Minister, Pierre Gemayel was shot dead in Beirut on Tuesday by unknown gunmen. The minister was hit when the motorcade he was travelling in drove through a Christian neighbourhood in the Lebanese capital. A Christian, Gemayel was the son of a former Lebaneser president Amin Gemayel and a prominent anti-Syrian politician. RIP. I believe he is the son of Amin Gemayel, former Christian president of Lebanon.
More, from Ya Liban... Prominent anti-Syrian Christian politician Pierre Gemayel was assassinated in a suburb of Beirut on Tuesday. Gemayel, an outspoken critic of Syria, was assassinated near Beirut on Tuesday, security sources said. Gunmen opened fire as his convoy drove through the Christian Sin el-Fil neighbourhood. Gemayel was rushed to hospital where he later died of his wounds. Gemayel, a member of the Christian Phalange Party and industry minister, was the son of former President Amin Gemayel. He was an opponent of the influence in Lebanon of Syria, who many Lebanese blame for the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Lebanon is in the throes of a political storm pitting the anti-Syrian ruling majority against the pro-Damascus opposition. The political tension threatens 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. 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 resignation of six 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. Gemayel is the first anti-Syrian politician to be killed since Gebran Tueni, who was assassinated in a car bomb blast on December 12, 2005. | |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #15 Watch the Anschluss of Lebanon to Iran via their HizbAllah proxy. As Bibi says, it's 1938 all over again. Once they've secured Lebanon the next attack on Israel will be coming. Who will stop Iran from setting up more rockets in Lebanon? The only way out now --for us-- is a massive attack on Iran, and shutting down all Syrian borders. |
| Posted by: Kalle 2006-11-21 18:48 |
| #14 Aack... The funeral is scheduled for Thursday , the same day as the Hez street demos. |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-11-21 17:14 |
| #13 A dpa wire announced that Pierre Gemayel will be buried on Wednesday. Hez and their allies are expected to begin their street demonstrations on Thursday. Excerpt from the link: The Anti-Syrian Lebanese "March 14 Forces" called on their followers Tuesday for a massive participation in the burial of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. "The March 14 forces calls on their followers and friends who took part in the Revolution for the Independence to participate massively in the popular burial of the heroic martyr Pierre Gemayel," said former MP Fares Saeed, reading a statement by the March 14 forces. The service will be held at the Maronite Catholic cathedral of St. George in downtown Beirut at 1100 GMT on Thursday after it was delayed from Wednesday, said the statement. |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-11-21 17:11 |
| #12 Via Victor Davis Hanson writing at The Corner. I still hope he has Dick Cheney's ear. Re: Syria's Strategy [Victor Davis Hanson] Another assassination in Lebanon, by the same Syrian thugs who have killed so many in Lebanon-and long ago were de facto invited into that country to offer "order" by the same Bakerism that has now returned. One of the great achievements of the present Bush administration was forcing Syria out of Lebanon and allowing democracy a chance there. Do we really wish to undo all that by offering protocols and concessions to those who are aiding in the killing of our soldiers in Iraq? What I like about the Bush administration is its principled resolve: as the hawkish liberals bailed, so they stayed the course; as the paleos condemned them as naifs and worse, they kept trying to push reform in the Middle East; when many of the Neocons bailed on the war they so long wanted, they still were firm. But after going through all that, would they really sit down with murderous regimes in Iran and Syria, whose intelligence operatives are daily killing reformers from Beirut to Baghdad, and who are the archetypes of all that they abhor in the Middle East? Say it ain't so. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2006-11-21 16:50 |
| #11 Am I the only one who's having a hard time feeling sorry for these idjits? Yeah, it's sad that parts of Lebanon's pluralistic population have to go through such insanity, but at the same time, the usual corruption and terrorist alliances nigh well demand they enjoy this sort of mayhem on a regular basis. It's just too bad that the bad guys don't get their share of the lead. Maybe it should serve as a cue to the other factions that they need to dust off their armories. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-11-21 14:56 |
| #10 Lebanese been without a civil war too long. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-11-21 14:27 |
| #9 That's what happens when you start showing weakness. And Baker wants to bring Syria on board. For that matter, I agree with Hitchens. James Baker is the last guy we should listen to about Iraq. http://www.slate.com/id/2154164/ |
| Posted by: danking_70 2006-11-21 13:25 |
| #8 Circular history in action - who says history is an upward pointing line on a sheet of graph paper? Its 1982 again, Bashir is elected and soon after blown up by the Syrians. When the Phalange had the backing of the Israeli Army they couldn't get the job done, how in the hell can they take on Syria now? |
| Posted by: borgboy 2006-11-21 13:17 |
| #7 According to the Lebanese blog http://blacksmithsoflebanon.blogspot.com/ (Note: unverified): Update: The FPM political and news website has just reported an attack on the offices of Minister of State Michel Pharaon, said to have taken place at the same time as the assassination of Minister of Industry Gemayel. |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-11-21 12:00 |
| #6 A portal for Lebanon-related news sources and Lebanese bloggers can be found at Open Lebanon |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-11-21 10:30 |
| #5 "shot in his car in Jdeideh, a Christian neighborhood, his constituency on the northern edge of Beirut." Get people talking about who they saw in the area-EVERYONE they saw. You'll have to cut through some hysterical gossip, but there will be grains of truth in all that talk. |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-11-21 10:10 |
| #4 I guess this is a kick off event for the Iran Syria summit. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2006-11-21 10:07 |
| #3 A bit more info here. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-11-21 09:52 |
| #2 anti-syrians seem to die unnaturally, don't they. Baby Assad needs a bullet in his neck |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-21 09:51 |
| #1 The Wikipedia bio of Amin Gemayel. |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-11-21 09:50 |