Samir Kassir

Samir Kassir (Arabic: سـمـيـر قـصـيـر; 1960–June 2, 2005) was a Palestinian-Lebanese university professor, journalist and historian. A prominent left-wing activist, he was a strong advocate of freedomg for the Palestinians, democracy in Lebanon and Syria and he opposed the Syrian presence in Lebanon. He was assassinated on 2 June 2005. His assailants remain unknown.

Related Topics:
Arabic - 1960 - June 2 - 2005 - Lebanese - Journalist - Syria - Syrian presence in Lebanon - 2 June

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Samir Kassir taught political science at the Universite de Saint-Joseph in Beirut and obtained his PhD from the Sorbonne in Paris. He wrote numerous books, in Arabic and French, about Lebanon, including one about the history of Beirut and another about the Lebanese Civil War. He also co-authored a book about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Palestinian-French relations.

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Kassir, a prominent and respected journalist, had a popular weekly column in the daily Al-Nahar newspaper, the most widely distributed in Lebanon. Kassir made frequent appearances on several television stations as a guest and political analyst on political programs.

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Known for his unrelenting courage, Kassir was unafraid of expressing trenchant opinions. He advocated democracy in both Lebanon and Syria; and continuously spoke for the rights of the Palestinians. It was his continuous calls for democracy in Syria and non-compromising views on the Ba'ath regime that many believe led to his assassination.

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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 Damascus Spring. He was a founding member of the Democratic Left (Lebanon), which won a seat in the Lebanese parliamentary elections of 2005.

Related Topics:
Damascus Spring - Democratic Left (Lebanon)

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Kassir's last book concerned 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.

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He was assassinated using a car bomb in Beirut on June 2, 2005. The investigation into his assassination is still underway, but no one has been indicted yet. Since Kassir 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 claimed 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.

Related Topics:
Assassinated - Car bomb - Beirut - June 2 - 2005

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Kassir was the second in the growing list of political assassinations that have occurred in Lebanon in the past few months. These began with the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Prime Minister. After Kassir, Georges Hawi, the former head of the Lebanese Communist Party was targetted by another car-bomb; this was followed by failed assassination attempts at former Interior Minister and former Syrian ally Elias El-Murr and popular TV presenter May Shidiak. Shidiak survived, but lost an arm and leg.

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