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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Opinion:Kuntar Was Not a Hero nor Was Hezbollah Ever a Resistance
2015-12-25
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] The Syrian tragedy is truly unique and cannot be compared to others; it had revealed masks exposing truths covered up and hidden beneath the Arab stage of politics.

Moreover, Syria's battlefield was the place where a Hezbollah paramount was taken down quietly without creating a buzz or a sign of national or international care. It was only Hezbollah that arranged a funeral represented by memorial ceremony service followed with dubbing it's, previously honored for Israeli imprisonment, commander a martyr.

Those who exclusively eulogized their "Martyr" are active members of Hezbollah specially employed for the sake of making announcements that comprise of details on the party's deaths "deaders", which now are seen as reports that had lost the interest of them being circled around and published.

Hezbollah latest eulogy: "Kuntar has been killed by Israel", an unconvincing statement with no logic standing behind it, because there is no apparent motif pushing Israel to kill someone that is fighting far off their borders all the way in Damascus. Others explain the incident as a result of a mistake by Russian Arclight Arclight airstrike; some also went all the way to interpreting that Russia has stabbed Hezbollah in the back.

The sole credible explanation remaining is the Syrian Opposition claim of perpetrating the operation of attacking the six story building, burying Kuntar under rubble.

No one was concerned with who killed Kuntar, since he was killed in his fight for Iran, Assad's regime, and Hezbollah.

This mass indifference might finally raise Hezbollah and other organizations' alarm on the fact that no one buys the lie they are portraying under the bleak comical impression of them defending Lebanese -Syrian- Paleostinian grounds.

The role they have long portrayed for themselves has been brought to an end, despite a fair majority of Arabs and Lebanese people buying into it, there were always the southern families that saw into it after being the first to pay up with dear blood, and were the closest to the reality of the battlefield.

The Syrian crisis and the regime's foul play against millions of Arabs has revealed their truth, shook the historical pillars they are based on and exposed their rallying cry and holy sacrament.

The public now asks if the heroes were truly "heroes", or were they mere merchants and proxies for foreign plans?

Was there any truth to what they have been told over the past decades, or was it all piled up superstitions?

Does Samir Kuntar deserve to be dubbed a hero for killing a three member Israeli family, or is he a criminal for participating in the death of 300 thousand Syrians?

Syria today altered all conviction and apprehension; people in addition to Hezbollah's society are forced to relook into the past with today's unfolding knowledge.

Supporters claiming that times have changed, and that today is a different story unlike the past, that had represented times of resistance and strife for ethics and glorified cause, renouncing all their present actions, must pause for a second and reconsider.

If we look back over past decades it is evident that they reflect mere chapters in a book that writes off its conclusion with what is happening in Syria today. Hezbollah's "resistance" is a title to a crime fiction, in which we can read about covering up evidence and falsifying facts, the connotation "resistance" itself was intended for taking over the Lebanese government and using it to cancel out any defiance, laying down the foundation for an opposing front like the alliance with Tehran in order to control the region.

News is read separately, but if we were to read it out as a whole we can conclude that those who killed a third of a million Syrians are the same people behind the tens of assassinated Lebanese citizens. They carried out an agenda based on eliminating any opposition, which was manifested in Rafic Hariri, Gebran Tueni, and George Hawi along with many others; in addition to their previous attempt on assassinating the late prince of Kuwait alongside targeting Arab and gulf airlines and touristic companies.

Moreover this is how we can truly interpret the story after tracing it back to its start point in the 80's, back when Iran along with Syria decided on interfering in the fight against Israel as an excuse for keeping their foot put down on Lebanese soil, holding up arms, and kidnapping foreigners; after they managed to get rid of the Paleostine Liberation Organization that was also giving the two powers a run for Leb.

Israel invaded Leb and eliminated the PLO; despite the perpetrator of the attempt on assassinating the Israeli ambassador in London was an affiliate of Assad's regime, Israel still used it as an excuse for the invasion.

In turn, Iran and Syria were the greatest benefactors of Hezbollah's "resistance", and by adopting the project that founded it, thus affixed Leb's occupation threatening the world through organizations run by them.

In the name of Paleostine, they were able to dominate the entire country, erecting training camps for Arabs to fight other Arab citizens in Iraq, Gulf, Yemen, and Syria.

We can no longer fall into the trap of superstition and false excuses, like "the defense against Israel". I do not know if Iran, Hezbollah, and Assad realize that the monstrous slaughter happening in Syria today, has written down a new page in history that cannot be overlooked nor forgotten.

The "story" of resistance and defense were never true, not for a second over the past years. Their days of taking advantage of the Paleostinian cause are over.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Bellemare Reportedly Referred New Indictment to Fransen
2012-02-18
Special Tribunal for Leb Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare referred a new indictment to Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen in the attacks on the three Lebanese officials that have been linked to ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

Sources close to the prosecutor's office told the daily that Bellemare referred to Fransen in the past few days the new indictment in the liquidation attempts of MP Marwan Hamadeh, ex-Defense Minister Elias Murr, and the murder of former Communist party leader George Hawi.

Media reports had said that Bellemare was expected to issue a new indictment before he leaves his post in March. His successor has not yet been named.

The sources didn't disclose the content of the indictment, hinting that it might include a fifth suspect linked to Hariri's Feb. 2005 liquidation.

STL front man Marten Youssef said during an interview with An Nahar newspaper this month that Bellemare can follow two ways to refer an indictment to Fransen: either discreetly, or he can refer it without revealing its context (to the public).

Eight lawyers have been selected to represent four Hizbullah members due to be tried in absentia for Hariri's liquidation.

Each of the four defendants will have a counsel and co-counsel who "are fully independent and can choose any strategy they see best fit to defend the rights of the accused," the court has said.

The Hague-based tribunal indicted Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Anaissi and Assad Sabra and sent arrest warrants for them to Lebanese authorities in June last year.

But the authorities in Leb have so far failed to arrest them.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Report: Indictment in Hamadeh's Murder Attempt to be Issued in Dec.
2011-12-06
[An Nahar] Special Tribunal for Leb Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen is expected to issue an indictment in the liquidation attempt of MP Marwan Hamadeh this month, informed sources said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Monday that the indictment will be issued before Christmas.

Fransen would later issue the indictments in the liquidation attempt of former Minister Elias Murr and the killing of ex-communist party leader George Hawi, they said.

The tribunal established jurisdiction over the three attacks in August.

According to the tribunal's statute, a case is connected to the Feb. 2005 liquidation of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri if it is of a "similar nature and gravity" and has a number of elements in common with it, such as "the criminal intent (motive), purpose behind the attacks, the nature of the victims targeted, the pattern of the attacks (modus operandi) and the perpetrators."

According to Article 1 of the statute, the tribunal has jurisdiction over attacks that occurred in Leb between October 1, 2004 and December 12, 2005 but only if their connectedness to the Hariri attack is determined by the pre-trial judge.

Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch, Butch and the Kid finally brought their horses under control...
 al-Hayat said that the STL sent a letter to General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza asking him about the efforts of Lebanese authorities to find the four Hizbullah suspects indicted in Hariri's murder.

Mirza, in his turn, handed the letter to Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, the newspaper reported.

The four Hizbullah members are Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
STL Establishes Jurisdiction over Hamadeh, Murr, Hawi Attacks
2011-08-20
[An Nahar] The Special Tribunal for Leb has established jurisdiction over three attacks relating to former ministers Marwan Hamadeh and Elias al-Murr and former head of the Lebanese Communist Party George Hawi, said the STL in a blurb.

Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen has also ordered that the Lebanese authorities provide the relevant files to the Prosecutor, it added.

On June 30, 2011, Fransen received a request from the Office of the Prosecutor to determine whether or not these cases are connected to the February 14, 2005 liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, it continued.

Fransen ruled confidentially on August 5 that the Prosecutor had presented prima facie evidence that each of the three cases are connected, and are thus within the Tribunal's jurisdiction, explained the statement.

"Fransen has today issued three deferral orders requesting the Lebanese judiciary to comply within the next 14 working days," it said.

"The Pre-Trial Judge authorizes the Prosecution to share his confidential decision on the connected cases with the Lebanese authorities," it continued.

The decision on connectedness otherwise remains confidential so as not to compromise the investigation, and to protect the victims and potential witnesses.

"According to the Tribunal's Statute, a case is connected to the February 14, 2005 attack if it is of a 'similar nature and gravity' and has a number of elements in common with it, such as 'the criminal intent (motive), purpose behind the attacks, the nature of the victims targeted, the pattern of the attacks (modus operandi) and the perpetrators'," explained the STL statement.

"According to Article 1 of the Statute, the Tribunal has jurisdiction over attacks that occurred in Leb between October 1, 2004 and December 12, 2005 but only if their connectedness to the Hariri attack is determined by the Pre-Trial Judge," it added.

"While the Pre-Trial Judge's rulings do not mean that an indictment will necessarily be issued by the Prosecution, it allows them to continue investigating these cases," it said.

"It is for the Prosecutor to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support an indictment in any of these three connected cases," concluded the statement.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Two Hariri Murder Suspects Linked to Murr, Hamadeh, Chidiac, Hawi Cases
2011-08-12
[An Nahar] The joint U.N. and international Sherlocks commission informed former ministers Elias Murr and Marwan Hamadeh and ex-LBCI anchorwoman May Chidiac that two of the Hizbullah suspects accused of being involved in the liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri are also involved in their liquidation attempts, revealed widely informed sources to the Central News Agency on Thursday.

The commission also informed them that these same two suspects are also involved in the liquidation of former Lebanese Communist Party leader George Hawi, who was killed in a kaboom planted in his car on June 21, 2005.

It added that the international judiciary has now taken over Murr, Hamadeh, and Chidiac's cases, informing them that they should prepare themselves to appear in court at the Special Tribunal for Leb, said the sources.

Furthermore, an indictment in their cases, as well as Hawi's, will be releases soon.

It will also be accompanied by arrest warrants against a number of suspects.

Earlier on Thursday, a delegation from the joint U.N. and international Sherlocks commission held talks with Murr, Hamadeh, and Chidiac on the investigations and their findings.

On June 28, the first phase in the indictment in the 2005 liquidation of former Premier Hariri was released along with arrest warrants against four Hizbullah members.

Leb had 30 days to apprehend the suspects, but it failed to do so.

Hizbullah has repeatedly announced that it will not cooperate with the STL, deeming it an American and Israeli product.

The Central News Agency added that the details of the first indictment may be released to the public in a few weeks.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Slain Lebanese security officer "possesed sensitive terrorism files"
2008-01-26
(KUNA) — A car packed with explosives blew up at the morning rush-hour in eastern Beirut on Friday killing an officer who "possessed sensitive files on terrorism" along with at least nine people and turning the location into a hairy scene dotted with shreds of human flesh. Major General Ashraf Riffi, Director-General of the Internal Security Force (ISF), also known as the police, confirmed in a statement to journalists after the blast that the car bomb explosion targetted Captain Wissam Eid "and a number of innocent people ... it constitutes a message to the internal force."

Eid, who served in the intelligence (information) department of the ISF, was killed along with a bodyguard in the rumbling blast that hurled shreds of human flesh many meters away in the district of Hazmiyah during the morning high traffic, set scores of cars afire and inflicted heavy damage within a wide radius.

Maj. Gen. Riffi said several people were wounded in the fiery blast and were whisked to nearby hospitals. "The martyr Eid had possessed very sensitive files related to terrorist explosions that occurred in Lebanon," the chief of the police said. Eid was reportedly involved in last summer's fighting that pitted the Lebanese government forces, both the ISF and the army, against a shodowy group known as Fatah Al-Islam in the refugee camp of Nahr Al-Bared in northern Lebanon. The Lebanese forces crushed the militants' hideout and took over the camp following fierce fighting. The group's chief, Shaker Al-Absi, whose whereabouts have been unknown, has recently threatened revenge in remarks posted on the internet.

Interior Minister Hassan Al-Sabaa told the press that Eid had been targeted with at least three botched bids on his life, and described the deadly attack as "intended to strike at the basic nerves of the Lebanese security system." A security source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the authorities detained several suspected persons for interrogation after the explosion that occurred at 10:15 a.m. (local time).

The explosion whose sound echoed throughout the congested capital set many cars alight, sending black clouds of smoke billowing into the skies, while civil defense teams struggled for hours to put out blazes of the burning cars. The blast followed an explosion that occured in eastern Beirut on the 15th of this month, trageting a vehicle of the US embassy. An American was injured in the blast and several locals were killed.

Last December a senior officer of the Lebanese Army was killed in a similar attack. Beirut has witnessed a wave of deadly bombs since assassination of the former premier, Rafic Al-Hariri, on Februaray 14, 2005. Several leading figures had been killed since the assassination of Al-Hariri — including journalist Samir Kassir, former Communist Party leader George Hawi, caretaker Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, MP Walid Eido and Brigadier General Francois Al-Hajj of the Lebanese Army.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
UN urged to investigate Lahoud's crimes
2007-11-28
As soon as Lebanon's former president Emile Lahoud stepped down and left the presidential palace the International Lebanese Committee (ILC) for UN Resolution 1559 issued the following press release urging the investigation of the crimes committed during Lahoud's term in office
The International Lebanese Committee ( ILC) for UN Resolution 1559 expresses its satisfaction that former President Emile Lahoud has finally left the Presidential Palace in Baabda after more than three years from his illegal extension of power, a breach of laws and principles which was addressed by one stipulation of the UN 1559 issued in September 2004, one day after the constitutional piracy was forced on the Lebanese People. However now that Mr. Lahoud has left the office, the Committee is calling on the UN special prosecutor in the Terrorist attacks in Lebanon since the fall of 2004 and the special envoy of the Secretary General of the UN to investigate General Lahoud regarding the following serious charges:

1. The Hariri and Lebanese politicians assassinations:
General Lahoud was an imposed President of Lebanon between October 2004 and November 2007. Under his Presidential mandate six political leaders, including legislators and a minister were savagely assassinated and two political activists murdered for political reasons. Under his Presidency the joint operations room between his regime, the Syrian regime and Hezbollah was still in function. General Lahoud was the higher supervisor of this joint operation room and thus is aware of the cooperation between the two regimes and Hezbollah in Lebanon during this period of time. A UN investigation with General Lahoud is now warranted in the Terror assassinations of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, MP Basem Fleihan and their escort, Samir Qassir, George Hawi, MP Gebran Tueni, Minister and MP Pierre Gemayel, MP Walid Eido and MP Antoine Ghanem. General Lahoud as the highest security official overseeing the joint intelligence operation room along with the Syrian regime and Hezbollah must be investigated at once by the UN investigation committee.

2. The assassination of Lebanese activists:
General Lahoud, being the head of the regime between 1998 ad 2007 and the highest authority overseeing the intelligence joint operation room with Syria and Hezbollah, should also be investigated in the assassination of Lebanese political activists who were kidnapped, tortured and killed between 1998 and 2007.

3. The Lebanese detainee in Syria:
General Lahoud, being the head of the regime between 1998 ad 2007 and the highest authority overseeing the intelligence joint operation room with Syria and Hezbollah, should also be investigated in the illegal arrest, kidnapping and transfer to Syrian jails of hundreds of Lebanese and non Lebanese national where they were tortured and some have been killed while others are still unaccounted for.

4. The Lebanese military and civilians murdered in 1990
General Lahoud, having deserted the legal Lebanese Army in 1990 and appointed by a Syrian-backed Government as a new commander of a Syrian controlled Lebanese Army that same year took responsibility for a joint Syrian-Lebanese military operation against the Ministry of Defense and the Presidential Palace in Lebanon between 7 AM and 5 PM on October 13, 1990. During that operation hundreds of Lebanese soldiers and civilians were executed against all norms of international law and a number of military personnel and civilians were detained and transferred to Syria. General Lahoud should be investigated for information he may have kept about these executions and the fate of the vanished persons.
The Committee 1559 also calls on the parents and relatives of all the victims mentioned above to inform the UN Investigation Commission about all questions related to these crimes and acts of terror, so that the investigation with General Lahoud can be comprehensive.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hamadeh to sue Hezbollah for 'Inciting' his Assassination
2006-12-29
Lebanon's Communications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, a key member in the anti-Syrian majority coalition, has vowed to sue Hezbollah and its television mouthpiece, Al-Manar, on charges of "inciting" his assassination.

Hamadeh, a key member in the anti-Syrian majority coalition, has vowed to sue Hezbollah and its television mouthpiece, Al-Manar, on charges of "inciting" his assassination. Hamadeh was seriously wounded in a booby-trapped car explosion on Oct. 1, 2004.
Hamadeh, who was seriously wounded in a booby-trapped car explosion on Oct. 1, 2004, said Wednesday evening that Hezbollah also "covered up" the attempt on his life. He said Al-Manar's news broadcast on Wednesday evening targeted him with "allegations and false charges that had been repeatedly spread by Syrian intelligence for months." Based on that, Hamadeh announced, "I will sue Hezbollah on charges of inciting my assassination and attempting to terrorize me politically and psychologically."

He also said Hezbollah had "covered up those who tried to assassinate me in October 2004. The car which targeted me was booby trapped in an area controlled by Hezbollah and its license plate was forged at a workshop in the same area."

Al-Manar's report claimed Hamadeh had "revealed" to U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman the hideout of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the 34-day war between the Shiite group and Israel last summer. Hamadeh said he would respond to Al-Manar's allegations through "the judiciary … I will deliver a recorded video copy of Al-Manar's report to the international investigation committee" which is probing the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes.

Hamadeh's statement was seen as a challenge to Hezbollah's reported rejection of the Special International Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the Hariri murder. Hamadeh, Defense Minister Elias Murr and TV anchorwoman May Chidiac suffered serious wounds in separate attempts on their lives by booby-trapped car blasts that are believed to be related to the Hariri assassination. Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, MP-Journalist Gebran Tueni, former Lebanese Communist Party Leader George Hawi and journalist Samir Kassir have all been killed in separate attacks that are believed to be linked to the wave of assassinations targeting anti-Syrian figures.

Hezbollah, which has been leading an open-ended protest to topple Premier Fouad Siniora's majority government since Dec.1, reportedly wants the international tribunal's bylaws amended to limit its powers to the Hariri assassination, without having the authority to look into the other crimes.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria: Dissidents Say Damascus Behind Lebanese Minister's Slaying
2006-11-24
(AKI) - Former Syrian government minister Ahmad Abu Daleh and one of the country's more prominent dissidents makes no secret of who he thinks was behind the assassination of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. Wednesday's killing "is a fundamental component of the Syrian regime's hegemonic attitude," Abu Daleh said in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI). Abu Saleh, who currently lives in the Czech Republic, accuses Syrian president Basher al-Assad's government of having a hand in the murder of other anti-Syrian Lebanese political figures. These include former prime minister Rafik Hariri, (murdered in Feb 2005), journalist Samir Kassir (June 2005), ex-Communist leader George Hawi (June 2005) and Parliamentarian Gebran Tueni (December 2005).

Abu Saleh a Baath Party leader during Syria's shot-lived union with Egypt (1958-1961) told AKI he has survived three attempts by Syria's current rulers to kill him. Other Syrian dissidents have also pointed the finger against the government for Gemayel's murder.

The National Salvation Front's deputy president Abd al-Halim Khaddam and the observer-general of the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood Ali Sadr al-Din al-Bayanuni have both blamed the authorities in Damascus for the murder. The killing is "a link in the chain of murders that aim to detabilise Lebanon and hence prevent the stting up of an international tribunal to try those [included Syrian security officials] suspected of having killed Hariri," Khaddam said.

A foreign-based group representing six dissident political parties the Syrian Democratic Alliance in a statement released in Washington also added its voice to those blaming Damascus.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hawi's family demand Houssam be questioned
2006-01-05
The family of George Hawi, late head of the Communist Party, demanded Wednesday that Lebanese authorities question the infamous masked Syrian witness Houssam Houssam as a suspect in Hawi's murder. Showing pictures of Houssam amongst crowds of onlookers in the immediate aftermath of Hawi's assassination on June 21, Rafi Madoyan, Hawi's step-son, said: "It is high time the Lebanese authorities investigate Hawi's murder and arrest those responsible for it."

Discovered by local photographer Wael Ladeki, the pictures were first published by the Elaph website. "It's weird how such a witness was present at several crime sites without being arrested," Madoyan said. According to Houssam's fiance, he was also at the site in Ain al-Mreisseh where former premier Rafik Hariri was assassinated, minutes before the explosion happened. "We, the family of George Hawi, also ask the Lebanese Judiciary to interview Rustom Ghazaleh and all Lebanese and Syrian security officials to find the answer to why this man, who works with the Syrian Intelligence, was present at all those crime scenes," Madoyan said. "The presence of this man at all those crime scenes also make us wonder about the role of the Syrian intelligence and their Lebanese counterparts and partners in all those murders," Madoyan said.

He described how Houssam used to live in an apartment right next to Hawi's murder scene in Wata Mousaitbeh and how he "suddenly was out of reach and sight on the days following the attempt."
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Houssam Houssam at the site of Hawi's assassination?
2006-01-01
Astonishing pictures have surfaced of the infamous masked Syrian witness Houssam Houssam taking part in the immediate aftermath of the assassination June 21 of George Hawi, then head of the Communist Party.

Houssam, who publicly confessed in November to having lied to the UN probe investigating the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, was shown in the pictures standing close to Hawi's family during a demonstration held on the afternoon of his assassination.

Hawi was targeted by a car bomb early on June 21. Houssam, formerly hailed as a "king witness," said he escaped to Syria after the Lebanese security forces monitoring him "became bored of following him."

The pictures, published by the Elaph Web site, were discovered by local photographer Wael Ladeki while he was organizing his photo archives. They show that Houssam, a self-confessed member of Syrian intelligence, was monitoring the crowds during the demonstration while standing close to Hawi's sister. Rafi Madoyan, Hawi's step-son, told The Daily Star on Friday that "some members of my family saw Houssam on September 20, in the area near their house with another person carrying weapons." He added that the family didn't know who he was at that time, but "after Houssam was shown on television in November during his news conference, they instantly recognized him."

Madoyan also said that "during that day, (before the assassination), Houssam approached one of my family members to make him a pair of glasses." According to him, "it is weird how such a witness would be found at several crime sites and roam freely without his security being covered." He explained: "According to Houssam's fiance, he was at the site in Ain al-Mreisseh where Hariri was assassinated minutes before the explosion happened. And he took part in my father's farewell demonstration hours after his death."

Madoyan also told The Daily Star that he will hold a news conference this coming Tuesday in which he will demand the Lebanese Judiciary extradite Houssam to question him. "The Lebanese Judiciary and the security investigations are suffering from confusion and tardiness in probing Hawi's murder," Madoyan added.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Mysterious Bombings Frighten Lebanese
2005-09-30
A recent string of bombings - particularly the last brutal attack that maimed a prominent TV anchorwoman - has left many Lebanese frightened over who could be next and increasingly puzzled about what can be done to stop the mysterious attacks. Sunday's bombing that injured TV personality May Chidiac - the first woman to be targeted - was the 14th explosion to hit Lebanon in the past year. The bombs have killed 28 Lebanese, including billionaire Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister. Politicians are bracing for more violence as a U.N. investigation into Hariri's Feb. 14 assassination that is targeting Syria and its Lebanese allies nears its end.

"There is an atmosphere of terror in the country," said Ramonda Jalbout, a 33-year-old mother of two and a lawyer. "One feels afraid of everything, there is absolutely no sense of security, no protection. I've come to feel afraid even of driving my own car and parking it on the street." "If Hariri and all his power and he could not protect himself, there is nothing I can do to protect myself," the woman said resignedly.

Four security generals are held on suspicion of involvement in Hariri's assassination, in which 21 people were killed, but not a single arrest has been made in any of the other bombings, which have targeted politicians, journalists and other prominent Lebanese. Commercial centers, industrial and residential areas have also been hit by bombs stuck to the bottom of vehicles, left in bags on street sides or packed into parked cars.

"I am sad, angry and afraid," wrote Sarkis Naoum, a political analyst in the leading An-Nahar daily who was the last guest Chidiac hosted on her TV program Sunday, a few hours before a bomb exploded under her car. "But fear does not mean we should forsake our duties." Dolly Ghanem, Chidiac's colleague, spoke of an atmosphere of fear and said she and her husband, also a journalist, were being advised by friends "to change cars and take taxis" to avoid assassination. "Caution is necessary ... but I refuse to be more cowardly than the cowards who are trying to assassinate us," she said at a media gathering Thursday to support Chidiac.

Fear only increases with the government's apparent inability to solve the crimes. Interior Minister Hassan Sabei said the authorities were up against a "phantom" carrying out a plan to destabilize the country. Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, warning of more attacks, has sought - and received - help from the FBI, which sent a team that began investigating Wednesday. Many Lebanese politicians have taken refuge abroad, choosing to stay away until security conditions improve. Others who remained here largely stay in heavily protected homes and travel in armed motorcades. Those abroad include legislator Saad Hariri, the son of the slain former premier whose assassination triggered mass protests that forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April after nearly 30 years.

Since then, two anti-Syrian activists - former Communist party leader George Hawi and journalist Samir Kassir - were among those killed in the explosions. In addition, there are the "living martyrs" - Defense Minister Elias Murr, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, and Chidiac - who survived bombings with various injuries. Fear and widespread speculation on who might be the next target prompted a popular talk show this week to host an explosives expert to give viewers tips on how to protect themselves. He suggested, among other things, a routine check under vehicles and security cameras on the streets.

In parking lots of supermarkets, malls and cinemas, private security guards are carrying out careful searches of vehicles using increasingly sophisticated bomb detectors. Pedestrians are sometimes subject to questioning. Concrete barriers have risen around politicians' houses.
The bombings have prompted groups of young Lebanese - anti-Syrian and pro-Syrian - to join in a campaign of "Kafa," Arabic for Enough.
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