Condolences of Politicians, Tweeters and Facebook Users Pour in after Tueni’s Death

Minutes after news broke out on Friday about the death of the “Dean of Journalists” in Lebanon Ghassan Tueni, politicians and ordinary Lebanese showered An Nahar daily with their condolences through statements and messages on social networking sites.

Premier Najib Miqati said Lebanon “lost a true national symbol” who defended Lebanon on the international scene and called for tolerance even when his son Gebran Tueni was assassinated.

Speaker Nabih Berri also expressed his condolences.

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said in a statement that Tueni “did not allow despair to penetrate the suffering of his heart.”

Lebanon was “in need for his wisdom and shrewdness,” he added.

Ex-PM Saad Hariri described Tueni as the “legend,” saying in a statement that “freedom will not die and An Nahar will not die.”

"One of the biggest champions of freedom of the press in Lebanon and the Arab world has disappeared," said Tueni's former brother-in-law Marwan Hamadeh, a March 14 opposition lawmaker.

"He turned An Nahar into a major independent newspaper in the Arab world at a time when no one dared outside Lebanon to write a word that did not glorify the leaders and autocrats of the region," Hamadeh told Agence France Presse.

Former information and culture minister Tareq Mitri also praised Tueni for his moral strength and his ability to adeptly combine politics and culture.

"He was a man of multiple identities," Mitri told AFP. "Much will be said about him as a politician, diplomat, author and journalist.

"But what makes Ghassan Tueni unique is his ability to be fully immersed in every role he played, in every function he occupied, and every position he held."

Phalange leader Amin Gemayel told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that “Lebanon, the Arab world and the entire world lost a very important man.”

“RIP Ghassan Tueni. Today we lost a great personality. He was the last one of a generation that gave so much to this country,” said Phalange MP Sami Gemayel on his twitter feed.

Journalist Octavia Nasr described him as the “dawn” of An Nahar, saying “no obituary can do my teacher.”

One follower tweeted: “Ghassan Tueni, a legend of a man, left us at dawn, leaving a huge void behind him at a time when we need his wisdom most.”

Followers also shared dozens of his photos on Facebook, drawing condolences from around the world.

“Ghassan Tueni doesn’t die. He stays always alive through his thoughts, heart and eternal words,” said a journalist on Facebook.