Crisis in Lebanon

[Al-khiyal]

BEIRUT, Nov 21 (KUNA) -- Christian Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel was shot dead Tuesday in the New Jdeideh neighborhood in preminantly Christian East Beirut.

A gunman had approached the minister's car and opened fire on him almost point blank and escaped. There were conflicting reports as to the extent and location of the injury in the minister's body although most reports said he was shot in his head or neck.

The minister was taken to hospital where he died later, according to a Lebanese military source that spoke to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The dead minister's father, former President Amin Gemayel now heads the predominantly Christian Party of the Kataeb.

Lebanese Industry Minister shot dead in East Beirut

[Al-khiyal]

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gunmen on Tuesday assassinated Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel, an outspoken critic of Syria, plunging Lebanon deeper into a crisis over ties with its dominant neighbor.

At least three gunmen rammed their car into Gemayel's vehicle near Beirut, then leapt out and riddled it with bullets, firing at Gemayel with silencer-equipped automatic weapons at point-blank range in a Christian neighborhood, witnesses said.

Ten bullet holes were seen around the window of the driver's seat of his grey car. The two front seats were soaked in blood.

The son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri blamed Syria for the killing in the Sin el-Fil area, but Damascus condemned the murder.

The assassination 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.

Gemayel, 34, was rushed to hospital where he later died of his wounds. Hundreds of angry and weeping family members and supporters gathered at the hospital.

"We believe the hand of Syria is all over the place," Saad al-Hariri, whose father Rafik was killed in a suicide bombing last year, said shortly after Gemayel was shot dead.

"Syria strongly condemns the killing," the official Syrian news agency SANA said. The Shi'ite group Hezbollah also condemned the "low criminal act" and urged an investigation.

Many ordinary Lebanese were shocked by the murder and feared the worst.

"I'm just waiting for the next minister to be assassinated. This is definitely not the end," said Johnny Ghoossain, 25.

The assassination came after a devastating July-August conflict in south Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, which accused the pro-U.S. government of backing its opponents in order to weaken it as a political and military force.

It also coincided with U.N. Security Council moves to create a tribunal to try those suspected of Hariri's assassination.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Gemayel's killing would make Lebanon more determined to set up the international court. Many Lebanese blame Syria for the killing of Hariri in a suicide truck bombing in February 2005.

Damascus denies involvement, though a U.N. commission investigating the assassination has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials.

U.S. President George W. Bush condemned Gemayel's shooting and urged an investigation to "identify those people and those forces behind the killing". French, British, Italian and other Western leaders all condemned the murder.

Six pro-Syrian ministers resigned from Siniora's cabinet this month and with Gemayel's death, the deaths or resignations of two more ministers would bring down the government.

Pro-Syrian Hezbollah and its allies are preparing to take to the streets to topple Siniora's government, arguing it has lost its legitimacy since Shi'ite Muslims are no longer represented.

After Gemayel's slaying, angry anti-Syrian protesters in the Christian town of Zahle in east Lebanon blocked streets and shouted slogans against Hezbollah and Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, but Gemayel's father urged against revenge.

The anti-Syrian coalition later told supporters to prepare to take to the streets peacefully. Any protests and counter-protests would raise the specter of confrontations.

"I have one wish, that tonight be a night of prayer to contemplate the meaning of this martyrdom and how to protect this country," former President Amin Gemayel told reporters outside the hospital where his son's body was taken.

"We don't want reactions and revenge," he said.

Gemayel, elected to parliament in 2000 and again in 2005, is the fourth Lebanese anti-Syrian figure to be assassinated since former prime minister Hariri's killing.

Gemayel, industry minister, was a member of the Christian Phalange Party founded by his grandfather. His uncle Bashir Gemayel was killed in September 1982 after he was elected president during Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

The Christian Phalange party controlled one of the largest militias fighting in the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud pledged to find those responsible for Gemayel's murder, calling it a "terrorist act".

Lebanon declared three days of mourning and Gemayel's funeral will take place at 1100 GMT on Thursday.

One of two bodyguards hurt in the attack died of his wounds.

Lebanon minister shot dead, Hariri son blames Syria

[Al-khiyal]

Father of slain Lebanon minister urges calm

[Al-khiyal]

Lebanese infuriated at minister's killing, fear more

[Al-khiyal]

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria condemned the assassination on Tuesday of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.

"Syria strongly condemns the killing," the official news agency SANA said shortly after news of the shooting of the anti-Syrian Christian politician near Beirut.

"This is a crime aimed at destabilizing Lebanon," SANA said. "Syria is careful about preserving Lebanon's security, unity and civil peace,"

Syria condemns killing of Lebanese politician

[Al-khiyal]

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's factions set aside a government power struggle on Tuesday to urge their countrymen to avoid civil strife after the assassination of anti-Syrian Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel.

Gemayel, 34-year-old industry minister, was killed near Beirut on Tuesday after at least three gunmen rammed their car into his vehicle, then leapt out and riddled it with bullets.

The country's rival groups are embroiled in a government crisis after the pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah quit the cabinet and threatened to resort to street protests unless it wins a more decisive say in government.

The anti-Syrian majority has dug its heels, saying the opposition only wants a bigger say to stop an international tribunal aimed at trying those implicated in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri from being formed.

Many Lebanese blame Syria for the killing. Damascus denies involvement, though a U.N. commission investigating the slaying has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials.

But after the latest in a string of assassinations against anti-Syrian figures since Hariri's slaying in February 2005, the divided groups all urged people to avoid civil strife.

Lebanese Christian opposition leader and Hezbollah ally Michel Aoun appealed for restraint.

"We condemn this ugly crime...which aims to harm Lebanese unity and to spark internal strife," Aoun said in a brief televised speech after meeting his parliamentary bloc.

"We call on all blocs to practice wisdom and to not fall into what the perpetrators seek."

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who had told Reuters last week that his anti-Syrian majority coalition would not cave in to Hezbollah's demand, also called for calm.

"The (international) court is inevitable; but we and you need to be vigilant so as not to be carried away by emotions, which lead to internal sedition (strife)," he said among throngs of mourners outside the hospital where Gemayel was taken.

Hezbollah, whose Shi'ite leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in remarks broadcast on Sunday that sectarian strife was a red line, also condemned the killing.

"The nature of the targeting, the method, the timing and the place are all issues which spark many big suspicions," a Hezbollah statement said.

"There is no doubt that those who carried out this crime want to push Lebanon into chaos and loss and a civil war..."

Gemayel's father urged people to pray and contemplate the meaning of his son's "martyrdom".

"I call on all those who appreciate Pierre's martyrdom to preserve his cause and for all of us to remain at the service of Lebanon. We don't want reactions and revenge," he said.

Rival Lebanese factions urge calm after killing

[Al-khiyal]

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said on Tuesday the assassination of a Lebanese Cabinet minister and vocal critic of Syria showed the need for quick agreement on creation of an international court for Lebanon.

Bolton also hinted at Syrian involvement in the killing of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel by gunmen who opened fire on his convoy near Beirut.

He pointed to a string of recent assassinations of anti-Syrian political figures in Lebanon following the February 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri after Hariri spoke out against Syria's domination of Lebanon.

"I think the facts need to be developed, but if you look at ... the evidence that links the Hariri assassination to the other political assassinations, I think people can draw their own conclusions," he said.

Bolton strongly disagreed when asked by a reporter whether council approval of the tribunal plan might feed instability in Lebanon, as some council members had argued.

"How incredibly wrong that would be," he said. "Instability? They are killing people in Lebanon, they are assassinating political leaders."

"Not the time to seek justice? There may be those on the Security Council who say it. Let them step forward and say it," Bolton said.

During a closed-door Security Council meeting on Monday, Russia and Qatar had suggested it might be prudent to delay action on the tribunal due to Lebanon's political crisis, said diplomats present at that meeting.

Gemayel's shooting came as pro-Syrian Hezbollah and its allies prepared to take to the streets to try to topple the government of anti-Syrian Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

It also coincided with the U.N. Security Council's consideration of the plan for an international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of Hariri and the other recent assassinations, which U.N. investigators believe are related to Hariri's death.

Gemayel was among the members of the Lebanese Cabinet to have voted last week to approving the U.N. plan for the tribunal.

The vote came after the resignation of six opposition Cabinet members, throwing the Siniora government into crisis.

Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, had immediately protested that the vote by the Siniora government was illegitimate.

U.S. urges U.N. action on Lebanon court after killing