Walid Eido
Walid Eido (Template:ArB) (Beirut, 1942 - Beirut, June 13, 2007) was a Lebanese politician and member of the Current for the Future Lebanese political movement and an MP in the Lebanese Parliament. He was also a member of the March 14 Coalition. He was killed on June 13, 2007 by a bomb near the Beirut waterfront, along with his son and two bodyguards and six others. [1]
Background
Eido was born to a Sunni Muslim family in the Bachoura neighborhood of Beirut. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Lebanese University in 1966 and became a magistrate a year later. In the late 1990s he was north Lebanon's public prosecutor, from which he was forced to resign in 2000 after being accused of accepting bribes.[2] While on Rafik Hariri's list, a then-unknown Walid Eido was elected as a representative of Beirut's second constituency in 2000 and 2005. He was the head of the Defense Parliamentary Committee and a member of several others. Eido belonged to the Sunni Al-Murabitun militia during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, and from which he was expelled for unknown reasons.[citation needed] Eido was one the closest allies of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, during his first years as Parliament Member. He would reportedly offer the military salute and "click his heels" whenever he met an officer of the Syrian intelligence [3].
Personal life
Eido was married with three sons named Khaled, Zaher and Mazen. Eido was an avid swimmer and the bomb exploded outside his favorite Beirut beach resort, Sporting Club.
Political career
After Syria's withdrawal of Lebanon, Eido became a critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Émile Lahoud. [4] On April 6, 2007 Eido asked Lebanon’s prime minister Fouad Siniora to end the current standoff and replace the resigned Ministers. Eido said "it is time to end this resignation mockery by replacing the resigned ministers in accordance with the constitution so that the government can go back to work." Eido had been a longtime ally of Syrian intelligence prior to Hariri's change in policy.
Eido was a supporter of the tribunal and a close friend of Rafik Hariri. Following the 2006 Lebanon War, Eido reportedly said: "I would sell my blood to buy weapons and fight Shi'a Muslims." This statement then became widely publicised. [5]
Assassination
A parked Mitsubishi Pajero four wheel vehicle packed with 80 kg (177 lbs) of explosives blew up as Eido's car was driving away from a Beirut beach club. [6] His son Khaled was killed along with his father while his second son Mazen was injured in the explosion and taken to the American University Hospital in Beirut. [7]
See also
References
- ^ "Blast rocks Beirut's waterfront". BBC News. BBC. 2007-06-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Walid Eido". The Guardian. The Guardian. 2006-06-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Another explosion in Beirut". The Angry Arab News Service. Angry Arab. 2007-06-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Lebanese lawmaker killed in Beirut blast". CNN World. CNN. 2007-06-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Chilling Echo for Lebanon, Mirror of Regional Tension". New York Times. New York Times. 2006-11-27.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Lebanon MP assassination condemned worldwide, but Syria silent". Ya Libnan. Ya Libnan. 2007-06-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Lebanon MP Walid Eido was the assassination target". Ya Libnan. Ya Libnan. 2007-06-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)