Fear turns Phoenicia Hotel into residence for anti-Syrian MPs
- From: BasilRathbone2010@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:43:39 -0700
Fear turns Phoenicia Hotel into residence for anti-Syrian MPs
Thursday, 20 September, 2007 @ 9:38 AM
Beirut- The March 14 alliance has rented Beirut's plush Phoenicia
Hotel and changed it into a bastion-like safe residence for its
threatened parliamentary deputies who would take part in electing a
new president for Lebanon.
The sea-side hotel is now off limits to all non-authorized personnel
and would not accept any guests until after the presidential
elections, a senior source told Naharnet.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "even MPs
representing the opposition and non-March 14 factions would not be
allowed into the hotel. This is a private property."
"It is more of a castle now," he said of the hotel, which is across
the street from site of the explosion that killed ex-Premier Rafik
Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005.
The source said some of the March 14 MPs "have already moved into the
Phoenicia which was totally screened, searched and checked in the past
48 hours."
"All the entrances to the hotel, its basements and parking lots have
been blocked. Security Personnel, waiters and administration employs
have been checked, and some of them given paid leaves and replaced,"
he added.
The source disclosed that Phalangist MP Antoine Ghanem, who was
assassinated by a car bomb explosion a few hours earlier, was
"supposed to move into the hotel this evening."
Ghanem returned to Lebanon from Abu Dhabi two days ago.
The Phoenicia Hotel is hardly one kilometer south of Parliament
compound, where legislators are invited to elect a new head of state
as of next Tuesday to succeed pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud, whose
extended term in office expires on Nov. 24.
Sources: Naharnet, Ya Libnan
.
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