- Antoine Ghanem
Antoine Ghanem (Arabic: أنطوان غانم) (
August 10 ,1943 –September 19 ,2007 ) was a Lebanese politician and an MP in theLebanese Parliament . He was also a member of theKataeb party and theMarch 14 Coalition . He was killed onSeptember 19 2007 in acar bomb explosion in the Sin al-Fil suburb ofBeirut . [ [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-09-19-lebanon-explosion_N.htm Blast hits Christian suburb in Lebanon, kills 4] , "USA Today ", September 19, 2007.] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7003191.stm Lebanese MP 'killed in bombing'] , "BBC News ", September 19, 2007] His death came just two days after he returned from abroad where he had sought refuge from such political violence.Background
Ghanem was born in the Tohwita suburb of
Beirut . He attended the "Collège Notre Dame" in Furn el-Chebek and the "Collège du Sacré-Coeur" in Gemmayzeh, both privateCatholic schools. After earning a degree in law from theUniversité Saint-Joseph inBeirut and theUniversity of Lyon , he taught law for several years at theLebanese University . He joined theKataeb Party in 1961 and later became head of itsBaabda district .Political career
In 2000, he was elected to the Lebanese Parliament for Baabda-Aley constituency, running on the list of
Druze leaderWalid Jumblat . A member of the block of the "democratic Meeting"Qornet Chehwan Gathering , he enjoyed nevertheless a certain autonomy considering his membership of theKataeb Party .He supported Gemayel in the political struggle within the Kataeb Party, countered the pro-Syrian president of the partyKarim Pakradouni and posted himself as an important speaker within the reforming Movement of the Kataeb Party directed by Gemayel.In September 2004, he voted against the extension of President
Émile Lahoud 's term. He actively participated in theCedar Revolution after the assassination of former Prime MinisterRafiq Hariri .He was re-elected in 2005 to his post of deputy and seat to the political council of the Kataeb Party, after the reunification of this party and the reconciliation between
Amine Gemayel andKarim Pakradouni .Assassination
Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah reported that the Ghanem assassination was a direct result of Syria re-opening its borders [ [http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/09/syria_reopens_2.php Syria reopens 2 border crossings with northern Lebanon] , "
Ya Libnan ", September 18, 2007] with Lebanon on September 17, 2 days before the assassination took place. [ [http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/09/syrian_plot_to.php Syrian plot to kill Lebanon's MP Ghanem exposed] , "Ya Libnan ", September 27, 2007]According to Al-Seyassah's sources inside Syria, the assassination was performed by Syrian intelligence, who continuously monitored Ghanem's movements. The agents rented two apartments, one near the residence of Ghanem in Qlei'at and the other near the crime scene in Sin el Fil. The sources revealed that the killers left Lebanon immediately after the assassination, completely disguised as Syrian workers.
ee also
*
Kataeb Party
*Cedar Revolution References
External links
* [http://hcss.nl/en/publication/394/Hariri,-Homicide-and-The-Hague.html/ Hariri, Homicide and The Hague: op-ed by the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies]
* [http://www.lebanese-kataeb.com/ Kataeb Party Official Website]
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