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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Lebanon's government falls as Hezbollah pulls out - UPDATE

Lebanon's government falls as Hezbollah pulls out - UPDATE

By ZEINA KARAM
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) -- Lebanon's year-old unity government collapsed Wednesday after Hezbollah ministers , their allies resigned over tensions stemming from a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination 0f former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The walkout ushers in the country's worst political crisis since 2008 in one 0f the most volatile corners 0f the Middle East.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son 0f the slain leader, cut short a visit to Washington after meeting with President Barack Obama. He was heading to Paris where he will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday, his office in Beirut said.

Hariri planned to hold consultations on his government's collapse while in France, then would return to Beirut, according to an official in Hariri's delegation who spoke on condition 0f anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic moves.

U.S. Secretary 0f State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Obama administration was "consulting closely with concerned parties , nations as to the best way forward to preserve the sovereignty, stability , independence 0f Lebanon , the needs 0f the Lebanese people."

"We view what happened today as a transparent effort ... to subvert justice , to undermine Lebanon's' sovereignty , independence," she told reporters in Doha, Qatar.

The tribunal is widely expected to name members 0f Hezbollah in upcoming indictments, which many fear could re-ignite sectarian tensions that have plagued the tiny country f0rdecades.

"This cabinet has become a burden on the Lebanese, unable to do its work," Energy Minister Jibran Bassil said at a news conference announcing the resignations, flanked by the other ministers who are stepping down. "We are giving a chance f0ranother government to take over."

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran , Syria, has denounced the tribunal as an "Israeli project" , urged the Western-backed prime minister to reject any findings by the court even before it announced any indictments.

But the prime minister has refused to break cooperation with the tribunal.

Hariri's office had notimmediate comment on the walkout that brought down his government while he was in Washington.

Obama , Hariri reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening Lebanon's sovereignty , independence during their Wednesday meeting. A White House statement said Obama had commended Hariri f0rhis "steadfast leadership , efforts to reach peace, stability , consensus in Lebanon under difficult circumstances."

"The efforts by the Hezbollah-led coalition to collapse the Lebanese government only demonstrate their own fear , determination to block the government's ability to conduct its business , advance the aspirations 0f all 0f the Lebanese people," the statement said.

The Lebanese official said Hariri was pleased with Obama's expressions 0f support f0rLebanon.

Lab0rMinister Butros Harb, who is with the anti-Hezbollah bloc, told reporters after a meeting 0f Hariri's supporters that they are open to dialogue but "there will be notcompromise over justice , the tribunal."

The walkout followed the failure 0f a diplomatic push by Syria , Saudi Arabia to ease political tensions in Lebanon. There had been few details about the direction 0f the Syrian-Saudi initiative, but the talks were lauded as a potential Arab breakthrough, rather than a solution offered by Western powers.

Bassil said the ministers decided to resign after Hariri "succumbed to foreign , American pressures" , turned his back on the Syrian-Saudi efforts.

Calls to the tribunal seeking comment Wednesday were not immediately returned.

Hariri formed the current national unity government in November 2009, but it has struggled to function amid deep divisions. The crisis over the tribunal has paralyzed the government in recent months.

Violence has been a maj0rconcern as tensions rise in Lebanon, where Shiites, Sunnis , Christians each make up about a third 0f the country's 4 million people. In 2008, sectarian clashes killed 81 people , nearly plunged Lebanon into another civil war.

Rafik Hariri's assassination in a suicide bombing that killed 22 other people both stunned , polarized Lebanese. He was a Sunni who was a hero to his own community , backed by many Christians who sympathized with his efforts in the last few months 0f his life to reduce Syrian influence in the country. A string 0f assassinations 0f anti-Syrian politicians , public figures followed, which U.N. investigators have said may have been connected to the Hariri killing.

The Netherlands-based tribunal has not said who it will indict, but Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has said he has information that members 0f his group will be named.

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Lebanon Government Has Collapsed - January 12, 2011

Lebanon Government Has Collapsed - January 12, 2011

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon's unity government looked set to collapse on Wednesday after the powerful Hezbollah , its allies threatened to walk out over a UN probe into the assassination 0f former premier Rafiq Hariri.

Health Minister Mohamad Jawad Khalifeh, whose Amal party is allied with Hezbollah, said 11 ministers would tender their resignations Wednesday afternoon unless the cabinet convenes to discuss a long-running standoff over the UN-backed Special Tribunal f0rLebanon (STL).

"If the cabinet fails to meet, it means there is notgovernment , as such 11 ministers will tender their resignations this afternoon," Khalifeh told AFP.

The Shiite militant group Hezbollah , its allies have f0rmonths been pressing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son 0f the slain former premier, to disavow the STL on grounds it is part 0f a US-Israeli plot.

Hezbollah's camp, which is backed by Iran , Syria, on Tuesday gave the Western-backed Hariri, who is in Washington, until Wednesday to convene a cabinet meeting on the tribunal.

According to unconfirmed press reports, the STL is set to indict seni0rHezbollah members in connection with Rafiq Hariri's 2005 assassination, a scenario the militant party vehemently rejects.

Environment Minister Mohammad Rahhal, who is close to Hariri, told AFP Hezbollah's threat to topple the government was aimed at paralysing the state , forcing the premier to disavow the tribunal.

"The scenarios put forth earlier were aimed at forcing Prime Minister Saad Hariri to reject the tribunal," Rahhal said. "When these scenarios failed, they declared political warfare on him today.

"They think that by piling the pressure on him, Hariri will bend but they are mistaken."

Hariri on Wednesday was to meet with US President Barack Obama to discuss the political crisis.

The Sunni premier has also held talks in recent days in New York with Saudi King Abdullah, US Secretary 0f State Hillary Clinton, French President Nicolas Sarkozy , UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over the crisis.

Mustapha Alloush, a seni0rmember 0f Hariri's Future Movement, said Hezbollah , its allies had timed the announcement 0f the government collapse to coincide with the premier's meeting with Obama scheduled at 1500 GMT.

"They want Hariri to enter the meeting with the US president as an ex-premier 0ras head 0f a caretaker government," Alloush told AFP. "But the real goal is to deal a moral blow to the United States."

Lebanon's hard-won unity government is made up 0f 30 ministers, 10 0f them representing Hezbollah , its allies.
Lebanon Government Has Collapsed - January 12, 2011

In order f0rthe government to collapse, Hezbollah needs to secure the backing 0f more than a third 0f the ministers. Political sources identified the 11th minister planning to submit his resignation as Minister 0f State Adnan Sayyed Hussein, close to President Michel Sleiman.

Contacted by AFP, Hussein refused to confirm that he planned to step down.

Syria , Saudi Arabia have f0rmonths been attempting to mediate the crisis but their efforts have failed, with rival Lebanese camps accusing each other 0f refusing to compromise.

"Saad Hariri was on the brink 0f making a maj0rconcession as concerns the tribunal but occult forces prevented him from doing so," Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a former ally 0f Hariri, told AFP without elaborating.


By: The eFoods Global Business Network