Naharnet

March 14 Demands Shatah Assassination Be Referred to STL

The March 14 forces condemned on Friday the assassination of former Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah, saying that his murderer is “known to all Lebanese.”

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora said: “We demand that his assassination be referred to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”

The forces made their statement after an emergency meeting at the Center House in Beirut in light of Shatah's assassination on Friday morning.

“Shatah was killed at the hands of the same murderer who threatens us on a daily basis,” he declared.

“This is the same murderer who has not had enough in targeting the Cedar Revolution,” he remarked.

“The murderer, with its Lebanese allies, is targeting Beirut, Tripoli, and Sidon in Lebanon and Syria's Daraa, Aleppo, and Damascus,” he noted.

“We received the criminals' bloody message and we reply that Lebanon will remain free as tyrants will fall,” declared Saniora.

“Lebanon will remain a country of freedom, dignity, and coexistence,” he stressed.

Addressing the Lebanese, he said: “You should not be fearful, but the criminals should be fearful instead.”

“Lebanon will remain a country for all Lebanese in spite of the criminals,” he stated.

“Lebanon will not die and it will not surrender. It has existed before us and it will continue after our death. It will remain stronger than its enemies and the criminals,” said Saniora.

He announced that the March 14 forces will keep their meetings open-ended until they announce further steps to be taken after Shatah's assassination.

Former Premier Saad Hariri's adviser, Shatah was killed in a major car bomb in downtown Beirut.

At least six people were killed in the blast.

The March 14 General Secretariat later condemned the assassination, saying that Shatah's moderation "was a cause for concern for those seeking strife and crimes against humanity in Syria and Lebanon."

It pledged that it will continue along the path of “true resistance” that witnessed the martyrdom of the several supporters of Lebanon's independence, starting with former Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005.

It called on the people to take part in Shatah's funeral, which is scheduled for noon on Sunday at the Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut.


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