From AP via The Guardian:
BEIRUT, Lebanon – A bomb Tuesday killed a politician who was a harsh critic of Syria’s power in Lebanon, police said, the second slaying of an anti-Syrian figure this month.
The explosion that killed former Communist Party chief George Hawi as he rode in his car came two days after elections that gave the anti-Syrian opposition a majority in Lebanon’s parliament, breaking the hold of Damascus’ allies.
Opposition figures quickly accused Syrian agents and their allies in the Lebanese security services in Hawi’s assassination, as they did in the June 2 slaying of opposition journalist Samir Kassir and the Feb. 14 killing of former prime minister Rafik Hariri…
“Yes, it’s the Lebanese security system – the remnants – the tutelage,” Farouk Dahrouj, another former Communist Party leader, said on New TV. “Tutelage” is a reference to Syria’s influence in Lebanon.
Walid Jumblatt, a leader of the opposition coalition that won the elections, which ended with a fourth and final round on Sunday, implicitly accused Lebanon’s pro-Syrian president and the security agencies he heads. Jumblatt said the agencies must be “completely purged” before security is restored.
The bomb that killed Hawi was detonated by remote control, similar to the one that killed Kassir in his car nearly three weeks ago, Justice Minister Khaled Kabbani said, touring the blast site…
Hawi, a Greek Orthodox Christian, frequently spoke out against Syrian intelligence and interference in Lebanese affairs.
He was a prominent leader during the 1975-90 civil war, and his followers fought alongside Muslim and Palestinian militias against right-wing Christians and also battled Israeli forces. But in recent years, Hawi espoused Christian-Muslim dialogue…
Syria filled Lebanon’s security and intelligence agencies with its allies to help implement its control for nearly three decades. Although Syria withdrew its military in April and some Lebanese security chiefs have been replaced, many pro-Syrians remain in place. The opposition also says Syrian intelligence agents continue to operate directly in Lebanon.