Lebanon bids farewell to Gibran Tueni, "martyr for freedom of expression"
Beirut (AsiaNews) Thousands of Lebanese gathered in Martyrs' Square to say farewell to Gibran Tueni, the slain Christian lawmaker and journalist, who was killed in a car bomb on Monday.
Waving Lebanese flags and holding photos of the dead man, the crowd waited in front of the offices of An Naharthe daily newspaper Tueni ranfor his coffin and those of his driver and two bodyguards who were killed in the same attack.
St-Georges Greek-Orthodox Church in downtown Beirut was filled with thousands of people, Christian and Muslims, who came to show their solidarity to the family.
The Maronite Patriarch, Card Nassrallah Sfeir, led a delegation of a dozen bishops and superiors general into the church to express his condolences to the family.
Talking to the slain lawmaker's father, Ghassan Tueni, Sfeir condemned the murder and called on everyone to seek the truth and expressed hope that Lebanon would be again an independent and sovereign country.
On its front page, the Al-Mustaqbal newspaper wrote: "All Lebanese today say farewell to the martyr for freedom of expression Gibran Tueni."
The funeral cortege went by the National Assembly where lawmakers observed a minute of silence in memory of their assassinated colleague. Inside, his parliamentary seat was draped in the Lebanese flag.
Responding to an appeal by the March 14 movement founded after the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and of which Tueni was a member, businesses, banks and schools closed across the country.
Tueni, 48, was one of the staunchest opponents to the Syrian regime, which was quickly blamed for the assassination.
"Can anyone say no in this country without the risk of getting killed?" asked Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.
Speaking in front of the National Assembly, Gibran Tueni's uncle, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadewho has been called a 'living martyr' for surviving an attack on October 2004accused the Syrian regime of the murder.
In a direct reference to Syria's president, one of the posters carried in the crowd said: "Bashar, who is next?" Another directed at Lebanon's pro-Syrian president said: "Lahoud, shame on you. Resign!"
Elio, the 11-year-old son of one of the two bodyguards killed in the attack against Gibran Tueni, spoke to AsiaNews just before the funeral.
"Why did they kill my dad just before Christmas, when the whole family gathers?" the boy asked.
Tears in his eyes, young Elio said: "I am crying but like Jesus I will forgive those who killed dad and Uncle Gibran."
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