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<font size=3><b>A lifetime of political resistance<br><br>
</b>By Raed El Rafei <br>
Special to The Daily Star<br>
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 <br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#666666"><b><i>Obituary<br><br>
</i></b></font><font size=3>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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
Passionately engaged in politics since his early university years, Hawi
actively organized and participated in several strikes, demonstrations
and popular movements. <br><br>
In 1955, he joined the LCP, becoming one of the main leaders of the
Student League by the end of the decade. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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. <br><br>
In 2003, he proposed a broad-based national conference with Christian
leaders Michel Aoun and Samir Geagea, whom Hawi once considered his
mortal enemy. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
He also participated in the national independence movement that followed
Hariri's assassination, and which led to the Syrian pullout. <br><br>
Hawi is survived by his widow Dr. Sossie Madoyan, an ophthalmologist,
daughter Rima, and stepson Rafi.<br><br>
<br>
Friday, June 24, 2005<br>
Hawi family releases statement denouncing Aoun<br>
By Karine Raad <br>
Daily Star staff<br>
<a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=16205" eudora="autourl">
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=16205</a>
#<br>
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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." <br><br>
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. <br><br>
"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." <br><br>
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." <br><br>
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." <br><br>
"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." <br><br>
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. <br><br>
"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.
<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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." <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
The bomb in Hawi's car was detonated by remote control about 200 meters
away from his house in Mosseitebeh. <br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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.<br>
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Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star<br><br>
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