[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[September 19, 2007]
[Pages 1211-1212]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on the Death of Parliament Member Antoine Ghanem of Lebanon
September 19, 2007

    I strongly condemn today's horrific assassination of Lebanese Member 
of Parliament Antoine Ghanem. I extend my personal condolences to his 
family and the families of the innocent persons who were murdered 
alongside him in Beirut.
    Since October 2004, there has been a tragic pattern of political 
assassinations and attempted assassinations designed to silence those 
Lebanese who courageously defend their vision of an independent and 
democratic Lebanon. Today's cowardly attack comes days before the 
Lebanese Parliament is scheduled to convene to elect a new President. 
The United States opposes any attempts to intimidate the Lebanese people 
as they seek to exercise their democratic right to select a President 
without foreign interference. We will continue to stand shoulder to 
shoulder with the Lebanese people as they resist attempts by the Syrian 
and Iranian regimes and their allies to destabilize Lebanon and 
undermine its sovereignty.
    I call on the international community to support the Government of 
Lebanon in its efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of these 
violent attacks and to stand with the citizens of Lebanon who continue 
to struggle to protect their freedom.

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