LebaneseForces.com: Fighting for Freedom

GEBRAN TUENI ASSASINATED
A car bomb explosion rocked the east Beirut suburb of Mkalles Monday morning killing Gebran Tueni. More details below.

Click here to view pictures of the funeral
Click here to view pictures of the explosion

A Thank You Letter

Abu Arz, the leader of The Guardians of the Cedars has sent us and the Lebanese-Forces.org website a thank you letter for standing by the GOC members arrested in Lebanon.

To read the letter click here (pdf)

Posted by 40-Tactical on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 | Permalink

Samir Geagea Responds

Samir Geagea responded to Gibran Tueni's assassination on television stating the following points:

1- We will continue the road to freedom.
2- We will withdraw from the government, unless it will act and call for an international inquiry.
3- We respect President Senioura, but we will not accept the same security issues every day.
4- Syria is behind all those assassinations.
5- It is our right to call for an international committee.
6- The goal of Syria is to halt the true governance in Lebanon. I ask all the parties to be as one to stop the Syrians in succeeding.
7- I am not preempting the investigation, but is it a coincidence that only only "Anti-Syrians" who are targeted (from Hamadeh, To Harriri, to Fleyhan, to Kassir, to Chehadeh, to Tueini).
8- SG was discussing with Tueini last night about the FPM event in Achrafieh (and their attack on Achrafieh's MPs).
9- We should use the martyrdom of MP Tueini to make some positives out of it.
10- We have a constitution, we have to use the law accordingly. It is the Shia's rights to oppose some decisions, but is is our right to make them pass.
11- It's been 6 months since we are in control, this is not acceptable anymore. We should take decisions promptly.
12- Whatever I say about Jubran Tueini is not going to be enough, he is a friend since the 80s in the Lebanese Front... to summarize it, Jubran Tueini was a Man of Integrity and truthful; he may have made some mistakes, but so did all of us.. He died for his convictions and he is a martyr.
13- We will have more to say in the coming days, as this has reached an unbearable point.

Posted by 40-Tactical on Monday, December 12, 2005 | Permalink

Gebran Tueni Perishes in Massive Car Bomb Explosion

Gebran Tueni, a fiery critic of Syria, was assassinated in a car-bomb explosion in Mkalles, east of Beirut Monday. He was 48.

Tueni was An Nahar's general manager and Beirut legislator.

"God have mercy on Gebran and An-Nahar will remain the beacon for freedom," Druze leader Walid Jumblat told LBCI.

Three people, including Tueni, were killed in the explosion that went off at approximately 9 am in Mkalles, media reports said. They said the blast went off as his motorcade drove through the area.

Around 30 people were wounded in the bombing which also started a large fire. At least 10 cars were destroyed, some tossed into a valley in the hilly area, the Associated Press reported.

"This is a new terrorism message," Jumblat said of the killing, which follows a series of subsequent bombings that have targeted mainly anti-Syrian officials in the past year.

At the scene Tueni's wife was in tears and refused to answer when asked by a reporter whether her husband was hurt.

Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, who is also Gebran's uncle, threatened to resign if the cabinet did not meet by Monday evening "to demand an inquiry under the supervision of the Security Council on all the crimes committed by Syria."

Hamadeh was also targeted on October 1, 2004 in a failed assassination attempt.

An outspoken critic of Syria's role in Lebanon, Tueni had recently been living in France for fear of assassination. His columns in An-Nahar often raised the ire of the Syrians.

After ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination, Tueni played a prominent role in the leadership of the mass demonstrations that, combined with international pressure, succeeded in forcing Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April, ending a 29-year hegemony. He was elected to parliament for the first time in the last elections in June.

Tueni's grandfather, Gebran Tueni, founded An-Nahar. His father Ghassan Tueni is considered the dean of the Lebanese press, having turned the newspaper into one of the leading media institutions in the Arab world.

He is survived by his wife, Siham Asseily and his four daughters Nayla, Michelle, Gabriella and Nadia.

Posted by 40-Tactical on Monday, December 12, 2005 | Permalink

Car bomb kills anti-Syrian MP Tueni

A car bomb explosion killed staunch anti-Syrian member of parliament and journalist Gebran Tueni in Beirut on Monday, police said.

Three other people also died and 10 were wounded in the explosion that blew up Teuni's armoured SUV car as it was driving in the Mekalis area of mainly Christian east Beirut.

At least three people inside the car were killed, their bodies charred beyond recognition, witnesses said.

Tueni, who is also a prominent journalist, was a firebrand critic of
Syria who was elected to parliament in this year's election.

Several cars were set ablaze and nearby shops and buildings suffered damage. Police and soldiers cordoned off the area as rescue workers ferried casualties to hospitals.

Lebanon has been rocked by a series of bombings and assassinations since the February 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Posted by 40-Tactical on Monday, December 12, 2005 | Permalink

Geagea Says International Probe into Mass Graves Only Way

The head of the Lebanese Forces' executive committee, Samir Geagea, has called for the creation of an international inquiry into recently unearthed mass graves in Anjar and Yarze, saying the case cannot "be resolved in any other way."

Speaking to reporters, Geagea said: "I would rather wait for the completion of the (Lebanese) investigation into the identities of the victims … and the perpetrators before commenting."

However, he pointed out that the location of the mass graves "implicated those who were in charge in those areas. Nevertheless, I prefer to wait before giving my final opinion on the matter."

He told An Nahar: "The first grave was unearthed in the Defense Ministry, where there was no presence of militias. The second was found in Anjar, which was under the control of the Syrian military and pro-Syrian militias."

Asked whether he supported a probe into other mass graves especially in the Upper Metn area and in which the Phalange was implicated, Geagea said: "It would be wrong to issue baseless accusations. I support the opening of all cases involving mass graves anywhere in Lebanon and a thorough and comprehensive investigation to reveal thirty years of facts that some are seeking to bury and that are well known by the public."

Geagea backed the formation of an international probe into the mass graves saying "the case will not be resolved in any other way."

"The Lebanese government is asking the Security Council to form a committee … that would determine the identities of the victims based on the findings of the Lebanese judiciary and the identities of missing persons. We all have an interest in uncovering the truth."

Geagea said that the Lebanese Forces was cooperating with the government in the case and would, at a later stage, work through Parliament to help reveal the truth.

Posted by 40-Tactical on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 | Permalink