CNN
June 21 2005

Bomb kills anti-Syria politician

Tuesday, June 21, 2005; Posted: 7:32 a.m. EDT (11:32 GMT)

Hawi, a Christian, frequently spoke out against Syrian intelligence
and interference in Lebanese affairs.

Car bomb kills anti-Syrian politician in Beirut(1:54)

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — A car bomb has killed an anti-Syrian
politician in Beirut, a day after opposition leader Saad Hariri’s
camp won Lebanon’s parliamentary elections.

George Hawi, former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist
Party, died instantly in Tuesday’s blast, police said. It was the
second slaying of an anti-Syrian figure this month.

Hawi had actively campaigned for opposition alliance candidate Elias
Atallah, a co-founder of the left-leaning Lebanese Democratic
Movement, according to sources close to Hawi’s family, CNN’s Beirut
Bureau Chief Brent Sadler reported.

That movement was heavily influenced by prominent anti-Syrian
journalist Samir Kassir, who was killed June 2 during the election
period.

Kassir died when a bomb apparently planted in his car exploded. He
was a columnist for the Lebanese daily newspaper An Nahar, a
publication often critical of Syrian influence in Lebanon.

Police said Tuesday’s bombing was similar to the one that killed
Kassir.

Tuesday’s bombing “will be seen here in light of what happened during
the weekend, when the opposition won an outright victory, giving them
an outright majority in parliament,” Sadler said.

Hawi, a Christian, frequently spoke out against Syrian intelligence
and interference in Lebanese affairs, The Associated Press reported.

Hawi was related to an Armenian candidate who was standing for
parliament in the national elections that finished on Sunday, Sadler
said.

The bombing, which authorities said occurred about 10 a.m. (3 a.m.
ET) in a western Beirut neighborhood, left Hawi’s black Mercedes
crumpled.

Witnesses and security sources said the car had just left a gas
station and was traveling on a road when the bomb exploded.

Hawi’s driver escaped with only minor injuries; police sources said
the bomb apparently targeted Hawi, who was in the passenger seat.

“We are stunned,” said Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who
visited the blast site. “With every achievement by the Lebanese
state, we see there are those who want to target security and send
messages of this sort.”

On Monday, opposition leader Hariri said his anti-Syrian camp had
emerged as the winner in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections.

“The elections are behind us and we don’t see anything in front of us
but the future of Lebanon,” said Hariri, who became a candidate after
his father, Rafik, was assassinated.

Interior Minister Hassan Al Sabaa, speaking on national television,
said 72 of the 128 seats will be allocated to Hariri’s Future
Movement, an alliance that includes Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive
Socialist Party, Lebanese Forces and Qurnet Shahwan.

Another 25 seats will go to Amal (Nabih Berri) and Hezbollah; and 21
seats will go to an alliance of the Free Patriotic Movement, Skaff,
Franjieh and Tashnak, the minister said. (Full story)

“This victory is to be given as a present to the soul of the martyr
Rafik Hariri,” the son told reporters a day after the fourth and
final voting took place, in the country’s north.

The four elections, spread out over four weeks, marked the first vote
since the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanese territory.