[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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