Sep 20, 2007, 12:52 GMT
Beirut - The Lebanese government said on Thursday that the 'terrorist' assassination of MP Antoine Ghanem would only reinforce its demands that a parliamentary vote to choose a new president must go ahead on time.
'We do not fear terrorism and this will not break our will. It will only reinforce our determination to prevent the terrorists from succeeding,' said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi following a ministerial meeting chaired by premier Fouad Seniora.
'This is a terrorist act similar to the terrorist acts against the lives of members of the majority' over the last few years, Aridi told reporters.
'It cannot be separated from the presidential election... or from attempts to plunge the country into chaos,' he said.
'But we are determined to hold the election on time,' he said.
Shiite Parliament speaker Nabih Berri had said the date of September 25 still held for a parliamentary session to choose a successor to President Emile Lahoud.
Aridi said the ruling majority 'keeps its hand extended to everybody,' in an apparent reference to the country's opposition. 'We have to save Lebanon.'
Parliament is due to convene Tuesday for the first time in nearly a year amid deep differences between the pro-Syrian opposition and the Western-backed ruling majority which has accused Syria of Ghanem's murder.
Ghanem was the eighth member of the anti-Syrian majority to be assassinated since the 2005 murder of former billionaire premier Rafiq Hariri.
He was killed along with six others in a bomb blast on Wednesday.
Ruling coalition members blamed Syria for the latest murder, but Damascus has denied any involvement.
Meanwhile, the anti-Syrian coaliation of March 14, has called Thursday on their followers to gather for a mass demonstration on Friday to mourn the dead MP.
'All should be united and confront this Syrian-Iranian coup against our MPs,' said anti-Syrian MP and Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned of a 'big conspiracy' against Lebanon, vowing to go ahead with presidential polls to elect a new head of state.
'There is a big conspiracy against Lebanon which threatens the fate of its people,' Berri told the daily An Nahar.
President Emile Lahoud is due to step down on November 24, and government supporters view the vote as a chance to elect somebody who is not as staunchly pro-Syrian to the post.
Despite the latest assassination, the anti-Syrian group still commands a majority in parliament, with 68 seats to the opposition's 59.
The Syrian-backed group Hezbollah, and its allies in the pro-Syrian opposition have vowed to block any rival candidate. They can boycott the vote by preventing the required two-thirds quorum of 85 votes.
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