Samir Kassir
Samir Kassir | |
---|---|
activist, historian, | |
Years active | 1977–2005 |
Political party | Democratic Left Movement |
Spouse | Giselle Khoury |
Children | 2 |
Website | www |
Samir Kassir (
Early life and education
Samir Kassir was born on 5 May 1960.
Kassir received his degree in political philosophy in 1984. He gained a DEA (roughly equivalent to a
Journalism
Kassir's journalistic career began when he was a seventeen-year-old
In 1995 he founded a new monthly political and cultural review, L'Orient L'Express, which he edited until it ceased publication in 1998, from lack of interest and pressure from the advertising industry. From that year on he was a professor at the "Institut des sciences politiques de l'Université Saint-Joseph" in Beirut. It was also in 1998 that Kassir became an editorial writer for the daily Al-Nahar newspaper. He became widely known for his popular weekly column in which he wrote strong articles against the pro-Syrian government. He also made frequent appearances on several television stations as a political analyst on news programs.
Assassination and funeral
Kassir was assassinated using a car bomb in Beirut on 2 June 2005, just a few days after the general elections.[6][7] The investigation into his assassination is still underway, but to date no one has been indicted.[8] Since he had been constantly receiving threats from Lebanese and Syrian Intelligence Officers, there is widespread speculation in Lebanon that the perpetrators were the Lebanese-Syrian security apparatus or remnants of this force (as Syria has claimed that all its intelligence officers were out of Lebanon; in addition, the head of the Lebanese security forces had resigned). The Syrian government has denied these charges.[9]
On 4 June, a funeral ceremony was performed for him in Beirut with the attendance of hundreds.[10]
Aftermath
There was widespread condemnation for the killing and many prominent opposition figures blaming the blast on the Lebanese and Syrian governments. Among them were Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, who said "the blood-stained hands that assassinated Rafiq Hariri are the same ones that assassinated Samir Kassir." Moreover, Elias Atallah, Secretary General of the Democratic Left Movement, urged his allies to the presidential palace and remove president Lahoud. However, the calls remained unanswered. Years later, 14 March allies admitted that had Lahoud been removed, Lebanon would have been spared the later political assassinations.[citation needed]
Kassir was among the first victims in the growing list of political assassinations that occurred in Lebanon from 2004 to 2008. These began with the attempted assassination of
Views
A prominent left-wing activist, Kassir was a strong advocate of freedom for the Palestinians, democracy in Lebanon and
" ... What [Arab-American] reconciliation needs, if the United States were really willing to reach such reconciliation, is first [America's] revision of its understanding of Arab democracy, which has been restricted until now, to the American convention that mandates Arabs give up their pan-Arab ties... and the issues that steer their feelings most, on top of them the Palestinian issue ..."[5]
Known for his unrelenting courage, Kassir was unafraid of expressing trenchant opinions.
He maintained a keen and sympathetic interest in Syria despite his criticism of its involvement in Lebanon, and was on close terms with many Syrian intellectuals, including those involved in the
Works
Kassir's books, in French and Arabic, include a history of Beirut and a study of the Lebanese Civil War. He also co-authored a book about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Palestinian-French relations. His last book in Arabic concerned with the "Damascus Spring" and the consequences for Lebanon of Syrian political developments; Syrian dissident film-maker Omar Amiralay penned its introduction. Before his assassination, he was working on another book about the "Beirut Spring" that aimed to discuss the recent momentous developments in Lebanon, that was supposed to be published by Actes Sud. In February 2006, a book was published with the same title, by Actes Sud, but contained translations of Arabic articles written mainly after Hariri's assassination.
- Itinéraires de Paris à Jérusalem. La France et le conflit israélo-arabe, 2 volumes, Paris, Revue des études palestiniennes, 1992 et 1993 (with Farouk Mardam-Bey).
- La guerre du Liban; De la dissension nationale au conflit régional (1975-1982), Paris, Karthala/Cermoc, 1994.
- Histoire de Beyrouth, Paris, Fayard, 2003. ISBN 2-213-02980-6
- 'Askar 'ala mén? Lubnan al-jumhúriyya al-mafqúda, Beirut, Dár al-Nahár, 2004. (Soldiers against whom? Lebanon, the lost republic).
- Dímúqrátiyyat súria wastiqlál lubnan; al-ba`th 'an rabí' dimashq, Beirut, Dár al-Nahár, 2004. (Syrian democracy and Lebanese independence: in search of the Damascus Spring).
- Considerations sur le malheur arabe, Paris, Actes Sud, 2004. Translated and published by, Dár al-Nahár, in November 2005.
- Liban: Un printemps inachevé, Actes Sud, 2006. Translated from Arabic by Hoda Saliby.
- L'infelicità araba , Giulio Einaudi editore s.p.a. Torino 2006.
- Primavere per una Siria Democratica e un Libano Independente, Mesogea by GEm s.r.l. 2006.
- Das Arabische unglück, Schiler 2006
- De la desgracia de ser árabe, Almuzara 2006
- Being Arab, Verso, London 2006
- Den arabiska olyckan, Ruin, Stockholm 2006
- At være araber, Informations Forlag, Købehavn 2009
- Arap Talihsizliği, İletişim Yayınları, İstanbul 2011
Personal life
Kassir was married to
Legacy
His wife, Giselle Khoury, and a group of Kassir's friends, students and colleagues from l'Orient Express, including writer
The EU Delegation to Lebanon and the Kassir Foundation initiated a journalism prize in 2006.[12] Dina Abdel Mooti Darwich, an Egyptian journalist, won the first Samir Kassir Prize in 2006.[13] The Kassir Foundation erected a bronze statue of the journalist there on 2 June 2006, exactly a year after his assassination.
See also
- List of assassinated Lebanese politicians
References
- ^ a b "Blast Kills Anti-Syrian Journalist In Lebanon". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ Rasha Salti. (19–25 August 2004). The not so sick man of Europe Archived 20 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Al Ahram Issue No. 704.
- ^ "Journalist Samir Kassir assassinated in Beirut blast". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ A look at recent assassinations in Lebanon AP, Beirut, 27 December 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Biography".
- S2CID 220378402.
- ^ "Beirut Blast Kills Anti-Syrian Journalist". Asharq Alawsat. Beirut. Associated Press. 2 June 2005. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Wasted Martyr". NOW Lebanon. 6 June 2014.
- ^ Robert Fisk. (3 June 2005). Syria's troops have gone. So who killed Samir, Lebanon's fearless The Independent.
- ^ "Hundreds mourn slain anti-Syrian Lebanese journalist". Asharq Alawsat. Beirut. Reuters. 4 June 2005. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ A journalist apart. Kenneth Brown remembers Lebanese writer and journalist Samir Kassir Archived 7 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Al Ahram
- ^ "Lebanon: Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian, win 2013 Kassir Awards". ANSAmed. Beirut. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "Egyptian Journalist Awarded First Samir Kassir Award". The Arab Press Network. 22 June 2006. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
Notes
- Journalist's murder rattles Beirut, Christian Science Monitor, 3 June 2005
- Death in Beirut, New York Sun, 3 June 2005
- Hundreds mourn Beirut journalist, BBC News, 3 June 2005
- Adam Shatz - The principle of hope: Samir Kassir 1960-2005, The Nation, 4 July 2005
- Anti-Syria journalist killed by car bomb, Ramsay Short - The Telegraph, 3 June 2005
- Petition Urges Justice for Samir Kassir, iFEX, 5 July 2005.
External links
- Samir Kassir Website done by members of the Democratic left movement (inactive since January 2006)
- Samir Kassir's articles (in Arabic)
- Samir Kasir Prize for the freedom of the press (in French)
- Connecting the dots in Lebanon