The
plainclothesmen who outraged Lebanon by brutally beating
students and lawyers to break up a protest against the
army's summary arrests of opposition groups hostile
to Syria were security operatives of the Lebanese army's
intelligence branch, An Nahar reported Friday.
This was concluded by a weeklong investigation carried
out under the superintendence of Interior Minister Elias
Murr to determine the identity of the assailants involved
in the attack on protestors around Beirut's Justice
palace Aug. 9.
At
least 10 students from Gen. Aoun's Free Patriotic
Movement and Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces were hospitalized
with severe bruises after the beating and kicking
assault.
"Murr's
investigation has concluded that the culprits belonged
to the intelligence department of the Lebanese army
with absolutely no links to the interior ministry,"
An Nahar reported.
Murr
referred the findings of his investigation to Defense
Minister Khalil Hrawi, asking him to take the necessary
measures. Murr had repeatedly asserted that he would
mete out a harsh punishment.
Premier
Hariri has vowed at the cabinet session Thursday evening
to bring those who ordered and those who executed
the attack on the students and lawyers to justice.
"They won't be allowed to get away with it,"
Hariri said.
An
interior ministry communiqué said Murr has
ordered a police investigation into complaints that
local TV networks were banned from broadcasting live
a freedom's rally held by opposition groups at the
Carlton Hotel Thursday to protest Army high handedness.
