LEBANON: Lebanon mourns assassinated lawmaker Antoine Ghanem as governing coalition blames Syria for killing ahead of presidential election

Lebanon mourned on Thursday (September 20) an anti-Syrian member of parliament whose assassination plunged the country deeper into crisis and threatened to derail efforts to elect a new president. Banks and schools closed a day after a car bomb killed Christian Phalange Party parliamentarian Antoine Ghanem and seven other people in Beirut in the latest of a series of attacks on opponents of Damascus. Ghanem was the seventh anti-Syrian figure to be killed since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Ghanem's allies were quick to blame Syria for the latest bombing. Damascus condemned it. His death cut the anti-Syrian coalition to 68 in the 128-seat parliament -- only three above an absolute majority of 65, whittling away at its leverage in the presidential election. "The Syrian regime has taken the decision to destroy the Lebanese state and is targeting the foundations of the state. After sabotaging the parliamentary institution, and attempting to sabotage the government, this regime has decided to stop the presidential election from taking place in order to create a void and regain its hegemony over the country," said Fares Soueid following a meeting by March 14 coalition. The latest bloodshed drew international condemnation with U.S. President George W. Bush, the United Nations and the European Union expressing horror at Ghanem's slaying. Lebanese newspapers and politicians said the killing had set back efforts to reach a deal on a consensus candidate to replace pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose termin November. Parliament is due to meet on Sept. 25 to elect the new president, but the session will not go ahead without a deal between the anti-Syrian governing coalition and opposition. Government ministers affirmed their "commitment to holding the presidential elections on time", Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after an emergency ministerial meeting on Thursday. "Terrorism will not intimidate us", he said. Agreeing on a new president is seen as a step towards ending Lebanon's worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Efforts to solve the conflict have been complicated by the rivals' ties to competing regional powers. The bomb in a Christian district of Beirut damaged efforts led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a deal on the presidency, said Ali Hassan Khalil, a leading member of Berri's opposition Syrian-backed Amal movement. The funeral of Ghanem, who was 64, is set for Friday. Lahoud's termon Nov. 23. Failure to elect a successor could result in two governments -- one backed by the majority and one by the opposition -- and further destabilise Lebanon. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has asked the United Nations to add the Ghanem killing to other crimes being investigated by a special U.N. commission, Aridi said.

ITN Source | September 20, 2007

Tags:. .opposition. .conflict. .blames. .ties. .commission