Geagea, Hariri Commemorate ‘Man of Dialogue’ Shatah on First Anniversary of his Assassination Naharnet /27.12.14
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri hailed on Saturday former Minister Mohammed Shatah on the first anniversary of his assassination as a figure of moderation and dialogue. Geagea said during a press conference on the occasion: “We miss your wisdom, nationalism, and moderation during a time when we are most in need of them.”“It is true that you were taken away from us before your time, but you will remain a symbol of nationalism, moderation, and openness,” he stressed. “You are an example to those seeking justice and freedom,” he declared. “The anniversary of your assassination will not be a passing memory,” stressed Geagea. “The pain of the memory is exacerbated by the poor conditions we are living through today,” he remarked “We will not despair however and we will not rest until all the goals that Shatah and the martyrs of the Cedar Revolution are achieved,” vowed the LF leader. For his part, Hariri said in a statement that the criminals behind Shatah’s murder “struck a target that cannot be replaced.”“His death was a painful blow to me personally and created a great void in our national and political path,” he noted. “Several of us did not believe that such a dialogue-minded figure would be the target of a criminal blast,” he added. “In his loss, we miss a vital symbol of dialogue and perseverance against despair,” stressed the former premier. Shatah was killed in a bombing in downtown Beirut on December 27, 2013. Hariri had accused in the wake of the blast the criminals as being the same ones who assassinated his father, former PM Rafik Hariri, on February 14, 2005. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon tackling the 2005 murder has accused five Hizbullah members of being behind the crime.
Lebanon Remembers Mohd Chatah as symbol of moderation, dialogue
Dec. 27, 2014/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri remembered Saturday his senior adviser Mohammad Chatah, who was killed in a car bomb last year, saying that the former minister was a symbol of moderation and dialogue. “With his absence, we are missing a critical symbol of dialogue and never giving up in looking for solutions and finding an end to difficult crises,” Hariri said in a statement commemorating the first anniversary of Chatah’s assassination. “Mohammad Chatah is absent today from a political moment in which he should have been at the front row, expressing the Future Movement’s decision to make Lebanon’s safety a top priority above all sectarian, religious or regional interests.” Hariri is referring to the dialogue between Hezbollah and Future Movement that the two rivals launched earlier this week in an attempt to contain sectarian tension and search for means to end the presidential deadlock. Chatah, 62, was assassinated on Dec. 27, 2013, when his convoy passed by a car rigged with explosives parked in the heart of Downtown Beirut. Seven other people were killed in the attack, which Hariri had implicitly blamed Hezbollah for. In his statement Saturday, Hariri, the head of the Future Movement, said Chatah’s killing was a loss for the party and for himself.
“Those who took a decision to eliminate Mohammad Chatah recognize today that they attacked an irreplaceable target,” Hariri said.“Eliminating Chatah from the political circle of the Future Movement leadership was a painful blow to me personally and created a vacuum in our political work.”Hariri said that he had never thought Chatah could be a target of assassination, which the former prime minister described as part of a series of crimes “to eliminate symbols of moderation and national thinking and drag Lebanon further into division and sectarian strife.”“Chatah is a name that equals moderation, complements moderation and an idea that instilled in our minds the responsibility to protect Lebanon. Therefore, he is always present in all of us.”
