The funeral of Lebanese researcher and publisher Lokman Slim, a harsh Hezbollah critic, was on Thursday attended by western diplomats, including US Ambassador Dorothy Shea, who came to the family house in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the party’s stronghold.
The ambassadors of Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Canada sent a clear message that the international community stood ready to assist the Lebanese authorities in carrying out a transparent investigation to hold Slim’s killers accountable.
A week after he was found shot dead in the south of the country, Slim’s family organized a ceremony honoring him in the garden of their home in Haret Hreik, where they set up a memorial.
The ceremony, during which prayers were recited by Muslim and Christian clerics, was attended by a number of Western diplomats and friends in the absence of an official Lebanese representation.
Salma Mershak, Slim’s mother and a historian, called on the Lebanese to protect his legacy and the country from descending into violence.
Former MP Bassem Sabaa, who is originally from Haret Hreik, described the presence of diplomats on Thursday, as a “civilized incursion into the security area of the Wilayat al-Faqih,” in reference to Hezbollah’s stronghold.
“The scene has international, Arab, and Lebanese dimensions,” Sabaa said, adding that Lokman was “a role model and an idol, given that he was a popular man who sacrificed his life and insisted on steadfastness in this area called the southern suburbs.”
Shea described Slim’s killing as “a barbaric act, unforgivable and unacceptable.”
She added: “But let us also celebrate some of the characteristics that made Lokman who he was: he was tireless and relentless in his pursuit to reconcile Lebanon’s people and to promote freedom and inclusion. These efforts cannot and will not be suppressed through fear or violence, because they are what’s right. So, like him, let us not be deterred.”
The US ambassador called for holding the perpetrators accountable for their crime.
“We will push for what is just. We will join you in demanding accountability for this horrific crime… And we will do our best to carry on his legacy, including by continuing our partnership with the organizations he helped found. We are proud of these partnerships,” she stated.
Other diplomats also demanded an end to Lebanon’s culture of impunity.
German Ambassador Andreas Kindl stressed that the crime should not be forgotten, saying: “We want and need a transparent investigation and an end to impunity.”
