[News] George Hawi, A lifetime of political resistance

[News at freedomarchives.org]

A lifetime of political resistance

By Raed El Rafei
Special to The Daily Star
Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Obituary

Born in the Metn village of Bteghrin in 1938, George Hawi, a veteran 
communist party ideologue and a longtime leader of the Lebanese Communist 
Party (LCP) was assassinated on June 21 in a car bombing in Beirut.

Hawi was among the first to fight against the Israeli occupation of 
Lebanon, alongside Mohsen Ibrahim in the Lebanese National Resistance Front 
formed prior to the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982.

Passionately engaged in politics since his early university years, Hawi 
actively organized and participated in several strikes, demonstrations and 
popular movements.

In 1955, he joined the LCP, becoming one of the main leaders of the Student 
League by the end of the decade.

In 1964 he was incarcerated for his implication in a strike against 
Lebanon's state-controlled tobacco manufacturer,  in 1969 he was imprisoned 
for participation in the historic demonstration on April 23, in support of 
the Palestinian cause, and, then, in 1970, for attacking the army.

Despite being thrown out of the party in 1967 after calling for the group's 
independence from the Soviet Union, Hawi rejoined the party a short while 
thereafter and was elected secretary general in 1979, a position he kept 
until 1993.

As the Lebanese Civil War raged, he established the Popular Guard, a 
militia affiliated to the LCP which played a significant role in the war.

After leaving the Communist Party in 2000, Hawi took part in the national 
reconciliation process in an attempt to put an end to ethnic and sectarian 
divisions.

In 2003, he proposed a broad-based national conference with Christian 
leaders Michel Aoun and Samir Geagea, whom Hawi once considered his mortal 
enemy.

Once a strong Syria ally, Hawi opposed Syrian tutelage in recent years, 
taking part in the main opposition alliance along with assassinated Prime 
Minister Rafik Hariri and PSP chief Walid Jumblatt.

He also participated in the national independence movement that followed 
Hariri's assassination, and which led to the Syrian pullout.

Hawi is survived by his widow Dr. Sossie Madoyan, an ophthalmologist, 
daughter Rima, and stepson Rafi.


Friday, June 24, 2005
Hawi family releases statement denouncing Aoun
By Karine Raad
Daily Star staff
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=16205#


BEIRUT: The family of the Communist Party's former leader George Hawi 
harshly criticized General Michel Aoun yesterday for "gloating over the 
assassination of the martyr and covering up for the perpetrators."

In a recent statement, the Hawi family expressed fear that Aoun's behavior 
could pave the way for the decimation of another symbol of freed-om, 
democracy and the new Lebanon.

"Whatever the case may be about General Aoun's accusations - which are by 
the way a very strange way to deal with the death of an innocent martyr - 
we reassure the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement that we will not 
relinquish our faith in true freedom."

Aoun had commented on Hawi's assassination Tuesday night by saying that "we 
can't blame [President Emile] Lahoud every time someone gets hit. Hawi's 
relations were not ordinary and are broad, whether they are international 
or regional. It is more likely that he was murdered on that political basis."

The Hawi family said: "We assure him [Aoun] that Hawi was truly dedicated 
to his love for the people, the defense of the Palestinian intifada and to 
his faith in Arab brotherhood and Lebanese-Syrian ties based on mutual 
respect."

"If this dedication deserves capital punishment, then let this sentence be 
inflicted upon the defenders of Lebanon and its independence, the 
resistance fighters and free men, and the supporters of a national dialogue 
and a non-sectarian country."

The Hawi family added that  it "truly cared about preserving the freedom 
movement through actions, not words," and expressed gratitude to the 
delegations of people who have flocked to Hawi's house since his 
assassination on June 21.

"We hope, our precious martyr will be the last victim of the sinful hands 
which some are trying to cover up for," the Hawi family said.

The Arab Democratic Party blamed Hawi's assassination on the "Zionist enemy 
and its collaborators," stressing that Israel was the only party that would 
gain from Hawi's death by stirring organized chaos and tension in a bid to 
infiltrate Lebanon's domestic affairs.

In a statement, the party said: "With the loss of militant George Hawi who 
dedicated his life to the nation and people, all workers and oppressed have 
lost one of their most loyal commanders and such a leading symbol as Kamal 
Jumblatt, Maarouf Saad, Ahmad Mir Ayoubi, Mahdi Amel, Anwar Fatayiri and 
many others."

Meanwhile, the UN Information Center in Beirut released a statement saying 
the UN International Independent Investigation Commission into the 
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri did not 
interview or meet with Mr.George Hawi prior to his assassination on June 
21, 2005.

The clarification was released after media reports on Thursday claimed Hawi 
was assassinated for allegedly meeting with the commission to provide them 
with information about Hariri's murder.

Beirut's Chief Investigating Magistrate Abdel-Rahim Hammoud took a 
statement from Hawi's driver Thabet Bazzi who is still in the American 
University Hospital for treatment after being injured by the detonation of 
a bomb under Hawi's passenger seat.

The bomb in Hawi's car was detonated by remote control about 200 meters 
away from his house in Mosseitebeh.

The type of explosives used have not yet been determined, but the weight of 
the device is estimated at 0.5 kilograms, given that the magnet device 
found installed under the seat could not have supported anything heavier.

Judicial sources said Bazzi gave an initial statement in hospital on the 
day of the blast. The magistrate is awaiting reports by the Lebanese and 
foreign technical experts investigating the bomb before compiling his 
investigations.

[]

Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star


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