[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 142 (Monday, September 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12010-S12011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONDEMNING THE ASSASSINATION OF ANTOINE GHANEM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to S. Res. 328.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 328) condemning the assassination on 
     September 19, 2007, of Antoine Ghanem, a member of the 
     Parliament of Lebanon who opposed Syrian interference in 
     Lebanon.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded 
to consider the resolution.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, in the coming days there will be more 
funerals in Lebanon for fresh victims of despicable terror attacks. On 
Wednesday, September 19, 2007, Lebanese member of Parliament Antoine 
Ghanem and at least six others were killed in a massive car bomb attack 
in the suburbs of Beirut.
  Tragically, this is an all-too-frequent occurrence for the people of 
Lebanon. The wave began with the February 14, 2005, assassination of 
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others. On the 1-month 
anniversary of Prime Minister Hariri's assassination, something 
remarkable happened--hundreds of thousands of people gathered in 
Martyr's Square in downtown Beirut--spontaneously giving birth to the 
March 14 movement and the Cedar Revolution. Just 6 weeks after the 
March 14 movement began, the thousands of Syrian military forces that 
had occupied Lebanon for nearly three decades were out of the country.
  But although the military occupation of Lebanon ended in 2005, 
Lebanon has remained under siege, as Wednesday's events remind us. Six 
Lebanese parliamentarians have now been killed in 2\1/2\ years. These 
six, and other prominent Lebanese figures who were also killed during 
the same period, shared one important attribute--they were outspoken 
critics of the Syrian domination of Lebanon.
  Senator Lugar, Senator Sununu and I are introducing a sense of the 
Senate resolution condemning the despicable assassination of Antoine 
Ghanem and urging that the international community continue its support 
for the government and people of Lebanon.
  To the families of victims of Wednesday's attack and to the people of 
Lebanon, the Senate offers its deepest condolences for your losses. 
Wednesday's attack seeks to undermine the international tribunal set up 
earlier this

[[Page S12011]]

year to try the killers of Prime Minister Hariri and other Lebanese 
victims of political violence. So we call on the Bush administration to 
redouble its support for the tribunal and to work to ensure that 
Wednesday's crime is included in its jurisdiction.
  These attacks on Lebanon must stop. This resolution expresses 
bipartisan support for holding accountable any state sponsor or 
official implicated in the string of political assassinations beginning 
in February 2005. To many an observer it is no accident that this 
assassination occurred as we approach the critical period during which 
Lebanon will choose its next president. Many informed voices, both in 
and out of Lebanon, are pointing to Damascus. So to the regime of 
Bashar al-Assad, know that we in Washington are watching events in 
Lebanon very carefully. Lebanon must be free to choose its next 
president without intimidation or violence.
  Lebanon's enemies must understand that they face a united 
international front. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, and the broader 
European Union all have lead roles to play. So does the United States. 
So we call upon the international community to intensify the efforts to 
support the people and fragile democratic institutions of Lebanon.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table en bloc, and that any statements relating to this 
matter be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 328) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 328

       Whereas Antoine Ghanem and at least 6 others were killed in 
     a car-bomb attack in the Sin el-Fil suburb of Beirut on 
     September 19, 2007;
       Whereas Mr. Ghanem was a member of the Parliament of 
     Lebanon from the Lebanese Kataeb Party representing the 
     Baabda and Aley districts of Mount Lebanon;
       Whereas Mr. Ghanem is the 6th member of the Parliament of 
     Lebanon who had opposed Syrian interference in Lebanon to be 
     assassinated since February 2005, including former Prime 
     Minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri, former Economy and Trade 
     Minister Bassel Fleihan, Gebran Tueni, Industry Minister 
     Pierre Gemayel, and Walid Eido;
       Whereas other prominent figures in Lebanon who have opposed 
     Syrian interference in that country have also been 
     assassinated in the same time period, including politician 
     George Hawi and journalist Samir Kassir, while others have 
     escaped assassination attempts, including Defense Minister 
     Elias Murr, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, and 
     television presenter May Chidiac;
       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757 of 
     May 30, 2007, created a special international tribunal to try 
     suspects in the assassinations of former Prime Minister 
     Hariri and others;
       Whereas, by agreement between the United Nations and 
     Lebanon, the special international tribunal can receive 
     jurisdiction for other attacks in Lebanon that ``are of a 
     nature and gravity similar to the attack of 14 February 
     2005''; and
       Whereas these continuing assassinations are intended to 
     undermine the sovereignty of Lebanon and damage its fragile 
     democratic institutions: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses its deepest condolences to the families of 
     Antoine Ghanem and other victims of the attack of September 
     19, 2007, as well as to all the people of Lebanon;
       (2) condemns in the strongest terms this cowardly attack 
     and urges that its perpetrators, including any state sponsor 
     or official, be held accountable for their crimes;
       (3) underscores its full support for the special 
     international tribunal and urges the United Nations Security 
     Council to extend its jurisdiction to include the Ghanem 
     assassination;
       (4) urges the President to increase coordination with key 
     partners in Europe and the Middle East to more actively 
     support the sovereignty of Lebanon and strengthen its 
     governing institutions and security forces; and
       (5) reasserts its strong belief that the people of Lebanon 
     should be permitted to choose their next president, in a 
     process scheduled to begin in September 2007, free from all 
     foreign intimidation, interference, and violence.

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