 AMW condemns murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Arab Media Watch strongly condemns the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in a bomb blast in Beirut on February 14, and conveys its sincerest condolences to the Lebanese people and the families of the victims of this horrific, unjustified terrorist act.
 AMW wishes that those responsible be brought to justice, and hopes that this does not signal the start of further tensions in a country with bitter memories of civil war and occupation.
We urge politicians and the media to act with caution and not point fingers until all the facts are known. Jumping to conclusions will only make a bad situation worse.
In this press release, AMW has compiled quotes of world reaction, as well as relevant articles.
World reaction:
"President Assad condemned this terrible criminal act which claimed the lives of Lebanese citizens, notably Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. The Syrian government and people stand alongside brotherly Lebanon in this dangerous situation and convey our sincerest condolences to the family of Mr Hariri and the families of the other victims" - Syrian Arab News Agency
"Rafic Hariri was assassinated in despicable manner" - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
"We urge the people and government of Lebanon to be vigilant in the face of the plots of their enemies and to maintain the security and stability of their country...An organised terrorist structure such as the Zionist regime has the capacity for such an operation whose aim is to undermine the unity of Lebanon" - Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi
"The cowardly attack carried out by criminals shows the depths of the hatred that they have for this country... and is aimed at destroying its peace and stability. This crime will not halt the peace process that Lebanon has chosen to follow. Those responsible will be tried and given the punishment that their crime deserves" - Lebanese President Emile Lahoud
"Mahmud Abbas, the Palestinian leadership and the Fatah movement express, in the name of the Palestinian people, their profound condemnation of this dreadful crime which has cost the life of the Lebanese leader and former prime minister, the martyr Rafiq Hariri. The Palestinian people and their leaders offer their sincere condolences to the people of Lebanon, our friends and brothers, over this enormous loss, not only for Lebanon but the whole Arab nation. The Palestinian people will never forget the efforts deployed by the prime minister to support the Palestinian people in their fight for freedom and independence" - Palestinian Authority statement
"We condemn this abomniable crime which is trying to attack the stability of Lebanon" - Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri
"The people of Pakistan condole with the people and government of Lebanon as well as the family of Rafik Hariri over this tragic and irreparable loss. Hariri was a great friend of Pakistan. Over the years, he had worked hard to strengthen relations between Pakistan and Lebanon. Hariri's loss would be greatly felt by the entire Arab world" - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
"The international community should act together against the scourge of terrorism" - Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
"The probabilities are serious and we beseech God to save Lebanon from this dangerous terrorist act and its repercussions" - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa
"Kuwait stands by and supports all measures taken by Lebanon to confront such terror attacks and safeguard the country's security" - Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah
"The secretary general condemns in the strongest terms those who instigated, planned and executed this callous political assassination. Such acts are a reversion to a chapter in Lebanon's history that he had hoped was long past. It is imperative that the already fragile situation in the region should not be further destabilised" - UN statement
"France strongly condemns this crime. It asks that an international inquiry be launched without delay to determine the circumstances of this tragedy and who is responsible" - French government statement
In pictures: Beirut blast
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4264181.stm
Who killed Rafiq al-Hariri?
Analysts were reluctant to point fingers after the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri in Beirut, saying there were many parties who had an interest in killing him and stirring tensions in Lebanon.
Commentators said Syria would most likely be blamed for the killing and as a result feel the repercussions hardest.
But many of them wondered what Damascus stood to profit from having a hand in al-Hariri's death.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AA19EA2C-3683-4980-BFC6-666C15B07D41.htm
Unknown group claims Hariri assassination
DUBAI (AFP) - A previously unknown Islamist group claimed responsibility for Monday's assassination in central Beirut of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, in a videotape shown on Al-Jazeera television.
An-Nosra wal Jihad fi Bilad al-Sham (Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria) said it carried out what it called the suicide attack because of Hariri's close ties with the Saudi regime, but it provided no proof of the claim.
The video showed a young man with a long beard and wearing a black turban reading a statement in front of a black banner marked with the group's name and the Muslim profession of faith.
An assailant named Ahmed Abu Adas carried out the huge bomb attack, in which nine others were killed along with Hariri, "because of his relations with the Saudi authorities", he said.
"To avenge our mujahedeen (Islamic fighter) brothers ... killed by the Saudi regime's security forces, we have decided to inflict the just punishment on the agent and dirty instrument of this regime in Greater Syria," the man said.
"This martyr operation is a foretaste of numerous other operations which we will carry out against the infidels, apostates and tyrants in Greater Syria," he said.
Hariri, a self-made billionaire, had close business ties with the Saudi royal family and was a frequent visitor to the oil-rich Gulf state which has been a key financial backer of Lebanon.
The Saudi government condemned his killing as a "terrorist act".
Lebanese fear for future as bombers return to Beirut - By Salim Yassine
BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanese voiced fears of a return to the sectarian killings which scarred the country for 15 years after a huge bomb blast killed their five-times premier Rafiq Hariri Monday and brought scenes of devastation to the capital.
An estimated 350 kilogrammes of high explosive ripped through Hariri's motorcade, leaving a trail of carnage along Beirut's busy seafront reminiscent of the 1975-90 civil war.
In a country where memories of the devastation wrought by the war are all too vivid, businesses rapidly shut up shop after the lunchtime blast.
Seafront hotels near the bomb site like the Phoenicia Intercontinental rapidly began emptying as foreign guests headed for the airport with their luggage, AFP correspondents on the scene said.
"Hariri is dead, the country's future is now unsure," said one shopkeeper in the Hamra central business district as he swept away the shattered glass from his shopfront.
At Beirut's American University Hospital, where the 10 dead and 100 wounded were taken, large crowds gathered to vent their grief and anger, which some took out on press photographers.
"Hariri is dead, Lebanon will not survive. It's going to break apart into sectarian enclaves," wailed one distraught elderly man referring to the confessional divisions which fuelled the civil war.
"He alone could guarantee national unity."
Another mourner recalled the former premier's role in spearheading reconciliation and reconstruction during his five terms of office between 1992 and 2004.
"Hariri, the man who brought us peace, the man who rebuilt Lebanon is dead," he shouted, beating his chest in grief.
"It's a conspiracy against Sunni Muslims," raged another man referring to former premier's faith.
"Hariri was the only person capable of defending us. Now he's dead, Lebanon's been delivered to the Shiites."
In the former prime minister's hometown of Sidon, south of the capital, hundreds of residents took to the streets, setting up roadblocks of burning tyres on the main coastal highway, an AFP correspondent said.
Hundreds of tearful mourners also converged on Hariri's Beirut family home, beating their chests in grief.
The former premier's family put out a statement calling on his supporters to remain calm after the death of a man they described as a "martyr for national unity."
Christian former minister Boutros Harb, now an opposition MP, said Hariri's death "leaves Lebanon at a crossroads and opens up an era of uncertainty."
The spiritual leader of Shiite hardliners, Seyyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, called for "unity to face up to this hateful crime in an explosive regional context which threatens to destroy Lebanon politically and economically."
Lebanese President Emile Lahud was to convene an emergency meeting of security chiefs later Monday to discuss what he described as the "fallout from the crime which cost the life of Rafiq Hariri", official media said. |