Beirut – A bomb killed an anti-Syrian politician Tuesday in the second such assassination in three weeks. The United States condemned it as an attack on Lebanon’s quest to break free of Syrian domination.
Former Communist Party leader George Hawi was killed by an explosion under his seat as he was being driven through west Beirut. The blast came a day after official results of parliamentary elections were announced, showing the anti- Syrian opposition had won a majority in parliament.
The elections further loosened Syria’s grip on its neighbor after its army ended a 29- year military presence in Lebanon in April. But the killing fueled fears that Damascus and its Lebanese allies are striking at enemies in a bid to revive their waning authority.
Hawi, a 67-year-old Greek Orthodox Christian, was once a strong Syria ally but in recent years spoke out against Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs.
In Lebanon, opposition figures quickly blamed Syrian agents and their allies in the Lebanese security services for the assassination, as they did for the June 2 slaying of anti- Syrian journalist Samir Kassir and the Feb. 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
“These are not random killings. These are targeted assassinations of political figures,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. “Syria’s long and continued presence inside Lebanon has created an environment of intimidation and political repression.”
