political nonsense

The cabinet minister of Lebanon was assassinated.

Thousands of mourners paid their respects today to the family of Pierre Gemayel, the Lebanese cabinet minister and strong opponent of Syrian influence in Lebanon whose assassination on Tuesday jolted a nation paralyzed by political conflict.

The killing of Mr. Gemayel, the scion of a prominent Maronite Christian family, inflamed tensions between the anti-Syria coalition trying to hold its government together and the Syrian-allied opposition, led by Hezbollah, an Iranian-supported Shiite group. Hezbollah has threatened street protests if it is not given more power.

Several prominent anti-Syrian leaders said the killing was the work of Damascus and they expected the murders of more politicians who had spearheaded protests that led to Syria’s military withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005.

“It seems the Syrian regime will continue with the assassinations. I expect more assassinations but no matter what they do, we are here and we will be victorious,” Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said.

Syrian envoys denied the accusations of its involvement in the killing and joined the wave of international condemnation.
Lebanese radio reported that shots were also fired Tuesday into the Beirut office of Michel Pharaon, a Greek Catholic member of the ruling coalition and minister for parliamentary affairs.

Lebanon’s prime minister, Fouad Siniora, vowed in a televised speech on Tuesday that his government would hold firm. “I pledge to you that your blood will not go in vain,” Mr. Siniora said. “We will not let the murderers control the fate of Lebanon and the future of its children.”

In truth, his government may already be on life support. Last week, six pro-Syria ministers aligned with Hezbollah resigned after a failed effort to gain greater control over the government. A seventh minister had resigned earlier in an unrelated conflict.

With Mr. Gemayel’s death, there may now be too few ministers to pass any measures, and it appears that if the government were to lose one more minister it would automatically collapse.
reuters
nytimes

Stumble it!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006 at 9:46 am and is filed under main, the rest of the world, lebanon, middle east. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The cabinet minister of Lebanon was assassinated.

Thousands of mourners paid their respects today to the family of Pierre Gemayel, the Lebanese cabinet minister and strong opponent of Syrian influence in Lebanon whose assassination on Tuesday jolted a nation paralyzed by political conflict.

The killing of Mr. Gemayel, the scion of a prominent Maronite Christian family, inflamed tensions between the anti-Syria coalition trying to hold its government together and the Syrian-allied opposition, led by Hezbollah, an Iranian-supported Shiite group. Hezbollah has threatened street protests if it is not given more power.

Several prominent anti-Syrian leaders said the killing was the work of Damascus and they expected the murders of more politicians who had spearheaded protests that led to Syria’s military withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005.

“It seems the Syrian regime will continue with the assassinations. I expect more assassinations but no matter what they do, we are here and we will be victorious,” Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said.

Syrian envoys denied the accusations of its involvement in the killing and joined the wave of international condemnation.
Lebanese radio reported that shots were also fired Tuesday into the Beirut office of Michel Pharaon, a Greek Catholic member of the ruling coalition and minister for parliamentary affairs.

Lebanon’s prime minister, Fouad Siniora, vowed in a televised speech on Tuesday that his government would hold firm. “I pledge to you that your blood will not go in vain,” Mr. Siniora said. “We will not let the murderers control the fate of Lebanon and the future of its children.”

In truth, his government may already be on life support. Last week, six pro-Syria ministers aligned with Hezbollah resigned after a failed effort to gain greater control over the government. A seventh minister had resigned earlier in an unrelated conflict.

With Mr. Gemayel’s death, there may now be too few ministers to pass any measures, and it appears that if the government were to lose one more minister it would automatically collapse.
reuters
nytimes

Stumble it!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006 at 9:46 am and is filed under main, the rest of the world, lebanon, middle east. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.