Thousands Beirut Generals Funeral, Thousands Gather in Beirut for General’s Funeral
By HWAIDA SAAD and TIM ARANGO [Lebanon] [Lebanon-Syria] [Lebanon and Syria have had prickly relations from the time France created Lebanon as a Christian enclave from Syria land] [Lebanon was occupied by Syria for decades with Syria only leaving after
Hariri assassination in 2005] [small Lebanon works mightily to survive between powerful neighbors who are enemies, Israel and Syria] [the thing everyone has feared—namely, Syria’s civil war spilling over into neighboring nation—appears to be underway] [followup] [use psci 350, 355-455, 463] [*]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Under tight security, thousands of people began to gather Sunday in central Beirut for the funeral of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, the Lebanese intelligence official who was killed Friday by a powerful car bomb.
Security forces have cordoned off Beirut’s Martyrs Square, according to media reports, searching people as they tried to enter and turning back vehicles. Giant posters of General Hassan could be seen around the city, calling him a “martyr of sovereignty and independence,” The Associated Press reported.
October 21, 2012
Thousands Gather in Beirut for General’s Funeral
By HWAIDA SAAD and TIM ARANGO [Lebanon] [Lebanon-Syria] [Lebanon and Syria have had prickly relations from the time France created Lebanon as a Christian enclave from Syria land] [Lebanon was occupied by Syria for decades with Syria only leaving after Hariri assassination in 2005] [small Lebanon works mightily to survive between powerful neighbors who are enemies, Israel and Syria] [the thing everyone has feared—namely, Syria’s civil war spilling over into neighboring nation—appears to be underway] [followup] [use psci 350, 355-455, 463] [*]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Under tight security, thousands of people began to gather Sunday in central Beirut for the funeral of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, the Lebanese intelligence official who was killed Friday by a powerful car bomb.
Security forces have cordoned off Beirut’s Martyrs Square, according to media reports, searching people as they tried to enter and turning back vehicles. Giant posters of General Hassan could be seen around the city, calling him a “martyr of sovereignty and independence,” The Associated Press reported.
Lebanese officials have accused Syrian leaders of playing a role in the explosion, which killed at least seven people besides the general, intensifying concerns that Syria’s civil war could lead to a political crisis in Lebanon. General Hassan, who was allied with the anti-Syria opposition, had been under threat since he pushed for the arrest in August of a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician who was accused of plotting to bomb opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. [*]
In a move that could further incite animosity, General Hassan will be buried, according to media reports, next to the downtown Beirut tomb of Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister and an adversary of Mr. Assad’s, who was assassinated in 2005 in what many here believe was a Syrian plot with Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s main anti-Syrian opposition group, the March 14 bloc, has called for a mass turnout and demonstrations on Sunday to mourn the general, but the protests could also be used to pressure the government, which the opposition says is too close to Syria. The group has called for Lebanon’s Hezbollah-led government to resign in the wake of a powerful bomb attack for which it blamed Syria. [*]
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday that he had offered to step down, but that President Michel Suleiman asked him “to stay for a while longer as he discusses the situation.”
The signs of instability were partly rooted in Lebanon’s combustible sectarian tensions.
Mr. Mikati is a Sunni, but many fellow Sunnis see him as unwilling to stand up to Hezbollah, the militant Shiite movement that dominates the government and supports Mr. Assad’s brutal fight against a 19-month effort to oust him. The deaths of thousands of Sunnis in that crackdown have increasingly enraged Sunnis in Lebanon. [*]
The country’s politics are further complicated by geopolitical wrangling. While the main Lebanese opposition has long been aligned with Washington and Saudi Arabia, the governing coalition is backed by Iran and Syria. [*]
“We want this government to resign since it’s representing the Syrian regime and protecting the Iranian policy in Lebanon,” Nohad al-Mashnouq, a leading member of the March 14 movement, said. “It’s very obvious that the Sunnis are targeted in Lebanon. We haven’t had any Shiites condemning Wissam’s assassination; they just condemned the explosion.”
Friday’s attack, coming as it did against another foe of Mr. Assad and in a similar manner, recalled for many Lebanese the killing of Mr. Hariri, whose death set off widespread unrest and ultimately led to Syria’s withdrawing its troops from Lebanon. The Syrian government issued a statement on Friday condemning the bombing, which was powerful enough to shear off the fronts of apartment buildings and killed seven people besides the general.
On Saturday, opposition members had already begun a sit-in in Beirut, setting up tents and chanting anti-Hezbollah slogans.
By HWAIDA SAAD and TIM ARANGO [Lebanon] [Lebanon-Syria] [Lebanon and Syria have had prickly relations from the time France created Lebanon as a Christian enclave from Syria land] [Lebanon was occupied by Syria for decades with Syria only leaving after
Hariri assassination in 2005] [small Lebanon works mightily to survive between powerful neighbors who are enemies, Israel and Syria] [the thing everyone has feared—namely, Syria’s civil war spilling over into neighboring nation—appears to be underway] [followup] [use psci 350, 355-455, 463] [*]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Under tight security, thousands of people began to gather Sunday in central Beirut for the funeral of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, the Lebanese intelligence official who was killed Friday by a powerful car bomb.
Security forces have cordoned off Beirut’s Martyrs Square, according to media reports, searching people as they tried to enter and turning back vehicles. Giant posters of General Hassan could be seen around the city, calling him a “martyr of sovereignty and independence,” The Associated Press reported.
October 21, 2012
Thousands Gather in Beirut for General’s Funeral
By HWAIDA SAAD and TIM ARANGO [Lebanon] [Lebanon-Syria] [Lebanon and Syria have had prickly relations from the time France created Lebanon as a Christian enclave from Syria land] [Lebanon was occupied by Syria for decades with Syria only leaving after Hariri assassination in 2005] [small Lebanon works mightily to survive between powerful neighbors who are enemies, Israel and Syria] [the thing everyone has feared—namely, Syria’s civil war spilling over into neighboring nation—appears to be underway] [followup] [use psci 350, 355-455, 463] [*]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Under tight security, thousands of people began to gather Sunday in central Beirut for the funeral of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, the Lebanese intelligence official who was killed Friday by a powerful car bomb.
Security forces have cordoned off Beirut’s Martyrs Square, according to media reports, searching people as they tried to enter and turning back vehicles. Giant posters of General Hassan could be seen around the city, calling him a “martyr of sovereignty and independence,” The Associated Press reported.
Lebanese officials have accused Syrian leaders of playing a role in the explosion, which killed at least seven people besides the general, intensifying concerns that Syria’s civil war could lead to a political crisis in Lebanon. General Hassan, who was allied with the anti-Syria opposition, had been under threat since he pushed for the arrest in August of a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician who was accused of plotting to bomb opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. [*]
In a move that could further incite animosity, General Hassan will be buried, according to media reports, next to the downtown Beirut tomb of Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister and an adversary of Mr. Assad’s, who was assassinated in 2005 in what many here believe was a Syrian plot with Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s main anti-Syrian opposition group, the March 14 bloc, has called for a mass turnout and demonstrations on Sunday to mourn the general, but the protests could also be used to pressure the government, which the opposition says is too close to Syria. The group has called for Lebanon’s Hezbollah-led government to resign in the wake of a powerful bomb attack for which it blamed Syria. [*]
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday that he had offered to step down, but that President Michel Suleiman asked him “to stay for a while longer as he discusses the situation.”
The signs of instability were partly rooted in Lebanon’s combustible sectarian tensions.
Mr. Mikati is a Sunni, but many fellow Sunnis see him as unwilling to stand up to Hezbollah, the militant Shiite movement that dominates the government and supports Mr. Assad’s brutal fight against a 19-month effort to oust him. The deaths of thousands of Sunnis in that crackdown have increasingly enraged Sunnis in Lebanon. [*]
The country’s politics are further complicated by geopolitical wrangling. While the main Lebanese opposition has long been aligned with Washington and Saudi Arabia, the governing coalition is backed by Iran and Syria. [*]
“We want this government to resign since it’s representing the Syrian regime and protecting the Iranian policy in Lebanon,” Nohad al-Mashnouq, a leading member of the March 14 movement, said. “It’s very obvious that the Sunnis are targeted in Lebanon. We haven’t had any Shiites condemning Wissam’s assassination; they just condemned the explosion.”
Friday’s attack, coming as it did against another foe of Mr. Assad and in a similar manner, recalled for many Lebanese the killing of Mr. Hariri, whose death set off widespread unrest and ultimately led to Syria’s withdrawing its troops from Lebanon. The Syrian government issued a statement on Friday condemning the bombing, which was powerful enough to shear off the fronts of apartment buildings and killed seven people besides the general.
On Saturday, opposition members had already begun a sit-in in Beirut, setting up tents and chanting anti-Hezbollah slogans.
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