lebanese army holds funeral for young officer slain in incident
By The Daily Star
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Hizbullah handed over to military police Friday the suspect who fired at a military helicopter a day earlier, as the Lebanese army held a funeral for the officer who was slain in the shooting.
"Hizbullah has handed over the person who fired at the helicopter to the Military Investigative Magistrate in the case Jean Fahd," a judicial source told The Daily Star, adding that Fahd gave orders to the military police to interrogate him "and everyone related to the incident."
The source said that Hizbullah was "fully cooperating" with the judiciary.
First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, 25, was killed when his helicopter was hit by gunfire on Thursday during a training mission in the Sejod Hills, a region known as a Hizbullah stronghold in Southern Lebanon.
In a statement issued on Friday, Hizbullah described the incident as "unfortunate and distressing," adding that the group will "fully cooperate with the Lebanese Army and the judiciary to uncover the truth."
"We call on all political parties to refrain from baseless speculation on the incident whose circumstances remain unknown," the statement said.
Hizbullah also extended its "deepest" condolences to the family of Hanna and to the Lebanese Army. "First Lieutenant Hanna is not only a martyr of the Lebanese Army but also a martyr of the resistance," the Hizbullah statement added.
Meanwhile the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) bid farewell to Hanna during a solemn funeral Friday in his hometown of Tannourine in the northern province of Batroun.
Black-clad women threw red flowers at the Lebanese-flag-draped coffin carried by his Hanna's colleagues.
Representatives of Lebanon's three top officials attended the funeral at Tannourine's
Notre Dame Church.
Talking to reporters on Friday before joining a Cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Elias Murr said handing over culprits who opened fired on the LAF Gazelle helicopter "is the minimum that we could accept."
"The Lebanese Army and the Resistance [Hizbullah] are not two separate camps. We are in the same camp confronting Israel," he said.
On Friday, Hizbullah's second in command Sheikh
Naim Qassem said "confusion" still surrounds the incident, adding that the event had no political or security implications. Pro-opposition As-Safir newspaper reported on Friday that Hizbullah opened fire on the Lebanese Army helicopter mistaking it for an Israeli craft.
As-Safir quoted
anonymous sources as saying the gunmen mistook the helicopter for an Israeli aircraft dropping off troops in the South and opened fire Thursday, killing the navigator.
As-Safir said the shooting incident was caused by a "lack of coordination" on the helicopter flight. The LAF and Hizbullah often inform each other of their movements.
Another pro-opposition newspaper, Al-Akhbar, said a joint committee from the army and Hizbullah opened an investigation into the incident shortly after it happened.
The incident has raised political tensions in the country, with the ruling coalition increasing their demands for Hizbullah to surrender its arms.
Head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt said Thursday's targeting of a LAF helicopter, required "the immediate discussion" of Lebanon's defense strategy during upcoming dialogue sessions chaired by President Michel Sleiman.
Jumblatt described the shooting as a "heinous act," and called for an immediate investigation into the incident "in order to reveal culprits."
Jumblatt said discussing Lebanon's defense strategy would allow Lebanon to "better fight the Israeli enemy."
The head of the Progressive Socialist Party also called on all political parties to "avoid any acts that would undermine military strength and unity and condemn any attacks on the army."
Premier Fouad Siniora condemned the incident Friday, describing it as "painful and sad."
"But we should not get discouraged and we should double our efforts to strengthen state institutions," he told reporters following the Friday prayers at the Grand Serail. "We should operate under the umbrella of state and work for a comprehensive and conclusive investigation," he added.
Meanwhile Justice Minister
Ibrahim Najjar, said that it was unlikely that the incident had been premeditated.
The minister also urged the Lebanese "not to rush to conclusions and allow the judiciary to perform its job."
Former Premier Salim al-Hoss, who is considered close to the Hizbullah-led opposition, pointed the finger of blame at Hizbullah. "The area where this distressing incident took place is, as everybody knows, under the control of the Resistance," Hoss said.
"Hizbullah must explain and not justify what happened, because the death of a brilliant officer cannot be justified whatever the circumstances of the incident," the former premier added. - The Daily Star
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28-08-2008, 12:20
A nation is a society united by delusions about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbors - William Ralph
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