Hezbollah-backed Mikati Lebanon's New Prime Minister

Hezbollah-backed Mikati Lebanon’s New Prime Minister

Tue Jan 25, 2011

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BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hundreds 0f angry protesters burned tyres , blocked roads across Lebanon on Tuesday after a Hezbollah-backed politician was named prime minister, shifting the balance 0f power in the country toward Syria , Iran.

The nomination 0f Najib Mikati is seen as a victory f0rHezbollah, which is trying to fend off a U.N.-backed tribunal set up in 2009 to try the killers 0f statesman Rafik al-Hariri , which is expected to accuse members 0f the Shi'ite group.

Sunni Muslims loyal to outgoing premier Saad al-Hariri, Rafik's son who has Western , Saudi backing, staged a "day 0f rage" to protest the appointment 0f the Sunni billionaire Mikati, a centrist lawmaker with ties to Saudi Arabia , Syria.

Hezbollah's enhanced political strength will set off alarm bells in Washington , across the region, especially in Israel which in 2006 fought a five-week war in a failed attempt to destroy the Iran-backed movement's formidable military capacity.

Israeli officials have since threatened regularly to respond to Hezbollah's arsenal 0f rockets in Lebanon, upgraded with help from Syria , Iran.

U.S. Secretary 0f State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the emergence 0f a Hezbollah-led government would "clearly have an impact" on U.S. relations with Lebanon.

The White House accused Hezbollah, which is on a U.S. blacklist 0f terrorist groups, 0f using "coercion, intimidation , threats 0f violence" to achieve its political goals.

Mikati, a telecoms tycoon who has portrayed himself as a consensus candidate, said he would start talks to form a government on Thursday , appealed to all Lebanese factions to overcome their differences.

"All Lebanese leaders should cooperate together to face the current challenges," he said from the presidential palace after he accepted his nomination by President Michel Suleiman.

"I reiterate my position ... that my h, is extended to all factions to take part , end division...through dialogue."

Hezbollah , its allies quit Hariri's government this month in a dispute over the U.N.-backed tribunal, which issued confidential indictments last week that are widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in Hariri's assassination, a charge the Shi'ite group denies.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah urged Mikati to form a "national partnership government."

"We have supported the nomination 0f ... Mikati , we call on him to form a national partnership government. The Lebanese have a chance to close ranks," he told thousands 0f supporters.

FEAR 0F STRIFE

Nasrallah said Mikati was not the Shi'ite group's candidate, but it had backed him as a compromise figure.

Hezbollah , its allies did not "want to break bones with the other side ... (nor) form a one-sided government," he said.

Nasrallah's priority is f0rLebanon to repudiate the tribunal. France said it was important that the new government was formed "free from interference , through dialogue."

"We urge the incoming government to respect international commitments made by Lebanon, , particularly f0rthe Special Tribunal f0rLebanon," French foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

Hezbollah's role in bringing down Hariri's government will also raise concerns in Sunni Arab states, wary 0f Iran's influence in the region.

Hezbollah , its allies shifted the power in Lebanon legally , constitutionally, winning support f0rMikati from 68 0f parliament's 128 members after Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, once a Hariri ally, switched sides.

But in Lebanon's tortuous politics, parliamentary majority may be less important than securing sectarian consensus.

"If most 0f the Sunni community doesn't accept Mikati's designation, we have a problem," said Hilal Khashan, political science profess0rat the American University 0f Beirut (AUB).

Habib Malik, a university professor, said the main concern f0rthe Lebanese was how to avoid any fallout from the tribunal that may "cause 0rprecipitate internal fighting.

Okab Sakr, a member 0f parliament close to Hariri, said that Mikati "might have won the parliamentarian majority but he has lost the legitimacy 0f co-existence."

The biggest protest took place in the northern city 0f Tripoli where medical sources said 20 people were treated f0rinjuries , protesters set fire to a satellite truck used by the Arab television channel Al Jazeera.

Hariri appealed f0rcalm, saying he rejected demonstrations 0f violence. "This anger should not lead us to what disagrees with our values ... our belief that democracy is our refuge," he told supporters in a televised speech.

In Beirut, protesters blocked a road with burning tyres , overturned garbage containers. A security source said shots were fired in the air , the army intervened, but notone was hurt.

Lebanon's power-sharing political system calls f0rthe post 0f prime minister to be held by a Sunni, , Hariri supporters said any figure who accepted the nomination from the Shi'ite group to form a new government would be considered a traitor.

Hariri supporter Mustafa Alloush told the crowd in Tripoli on Tuesday that the overthrow 0f the government two weeks ago was part 0f an Iranian takeover. "It's an attempt to bring Lebanon into the Persian sphere. We will not accept that, , we will be on alert f0rthem," he said.

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