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Blast Kills Anti-Syrian Critic in Lebanon
By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer 42 minutes ago
A bomb killed an anti-Syrian politician Tuesday in the second such assassination in three weeks. The United States condemned it as an attack on Lebanon's quest to break free of Syrian domination.
Former Communist Party leader George Hawi was killed by an explosion under his seat as he was being driven through west Beirut. The blast came a day after official results of parliamentary elections were announced, showing the anti-Syrian opposition had won a majority in parliament.
The elections further loosened Syria's grip on its neighbor after its army ended a 29-year military presence in Lebanon in April. But the killing fueled fears that Damascus and its Lebanese allies are striking at enemies in a bid to revive their waning authority.
Hawi, a 67-year-old Greek Orthodox Christian, was once a strong Syria ally, but in recent years he often spoke out against Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs.
In Lebanon, opposition figures quickly blamed Syrian agents and their allies in the Lebanese security services for the assassination as they did for the June 2 slaying of anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir and the Feb. 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The Bush administration stopped just short of blaming Syria.
"These are not random killings. These are targeted assassinations of political figures," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "Syria's long and continued presence inside Lebanon has created an environment of intimidation and political repression."
In Brussels, Belgium, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: "I do not know who was responsible for this and I don't want to say that I know who was responsible, because I don't. But there is a context and an atmosphere of instability. Syria's activities are a part of that context and that atmosphere and they need to knock it off."
And Rice said there is "uncertainty about Syrian activities in Lebanon," despite Syrian claims that it pulled the last of its troops and intelligence forces out of the country in April.
More than 1,000 Hawi supporters gathered at the bomb site on Tuesday night, holding candles and white sheets of paper with the words: "Syria: who's next?"
Anti-Syrian politicians have said Syria has drawn up a hit list of its enemies in Lebanon. Syria has denied such reports, and it condemned Hawi's killing.
"This shows that the series of assassinations is continuing and the (Syrian-backed) security agencies are still at work," said Samir Franjieh, an anti-Syrian politician.
During its time in Lebanon, Syria filled the country's security and intelligence agencies with its allies. Although Syria has withdrawn its troops, and some Lebanese security chiefs have been replaced, many pro-Syrians remain in influential positions in the security apparatus.
Walid Jumblatt, one of the leaders of the anti-Syrian coalition, implicitly accused Lebanon's pro-Syrian president and security agencies in Hawi's death. He said the agencies must be "completely purged."
Another opposition leader, Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier, said the bombing was "part of a series of assassinations targeting leading national personalities in Lebanon."
President Emile Lahoud condemned the killing and distanced himself from the security services, saying he is not directly responsible for them as the opposition has claimed.
The attack Tuesday bore similarities to the one that killed Kassir in Beirut nearly three weeks ago: both devices were placed in cars, and both were detonated by remote control.
The bomb that kill Hawi was made of less than two pounds of plastic explosive placed under the front passenger seat of his car. After the bomb was detonated, the car zigzagged for about 50 yards before coming to a halt in the road.
A worker at a nearby car dealership said he heard the blast and ran to the car. Hawi's driver, slightly wounded, went around to the passenger door and the two men tried to lift Hawi out.
"Hawi was still alive and told the two of us, 'Help me, help me.' His face was bloodied, his abdomen was badly injured. Then he died," the worker said, refusing to be named for fear of trouble with the security services.
Hawi's stepson, Rafi Madoyan, blamed "the security system which is in power." Speaking through tears, he warned that everyone in the opposition was a potential target.
The bombing came as U.N. investigators questioned the pro-Syrian head of Lebanon's Presidential Guards about Hariri's assassination. Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hamdan is one of several pro-Syrian security chiefs accused by the opposition of involvement, or at least a cover-up, in Hariri's death.
After a meeting Tuesday evening, the opposition called for the U.N. Security Council to expand the mandate of the U.N. team investigating Hariri's assassination to include the killings of Kassir and Hawi. Opposition leaders called for "the highest possible turnout" for Hawi's funeral Friday, and a general strike that day.
What security council?Kathianne said:Who thinks it will take a 'bit o' time' for the Security Council to react?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050621/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_explosion
