Pierre Gemayel, Lebanese Minister of Industry, and son of the former President and Phalangist Chairman Amin Gemayel, was shot and killed in the northern suburbs of Beirut on Nov. 21. The incident is shocking and has drawn extensive condemnations from the international community.

The murder came on Tuesday as the Lebanese government had just approved a decision reached by the UN Security Council on proposals to establish an international court to try suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri and the resignation of several Shiite ministers in the cabinet. Perpetrators are making trouble and disturbances at this critical moment to show to the common people that they can do whatever they like to with their ulterior motives.

Lebanon is a small country but its political arena is rippled with crises. Infiltration by external forces and contention by major powers are to blame. Arab media regard the murder neither as the first one nor the last one, but the inevitable outcome evolved by the external struggles that center on Lebanon. In fact, Lebanon is a crowbar, which can disturb the region and the international community at large. And contention by external forces can also bring it into an abyss of bloodshed and upheaval.

The Arab Television Station in an in-depth evening program noted the future of Lebanon was unpredictable. Lebanon's "Al Anwar" newspaper in a commentary referred to murder to a cluster bomb, which will explod the Lebanese political arena into pieces.

After the assassination, Amin Gemayel, the father of the victim, in his interview with press asked people to remain sober-minded and exercise restraint instead of taking any action for revenge as there had been too much bloodshed in Lebanon. The words of the veteran statesman are indeed intriguing and thought provoking.

By People's Daily Online