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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanon in turmoil as caretaker govt steps in |
| 2011-01-15 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Leb's president prepared on Thursday to tackle the politically delicate task of naming a new premier after Hezbullies forced the collapse of the unity government, plunging the country back into crisis. President Michel Suleiman called on the government to continue in a caretaker capacity and said he would on Monday launch consultations with parliamentary groups on appointing a new premier, who must be a Sunni Mohammedan in line with tradition. In a sweep led by the Iranian-backed Hezbullies, 11 ministers withdrew from Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government on Wednesday evening, providing the minimum number of resignations to automatically dissolve the 30-member cabinet. The move was linked to a long-running dispute over the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Leb (STL), which is reportedly set to indict high-ranking Hezbullies operatives in the 2005 liquidation of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, Saad's father. The resignations of the 11 ministers came after Soddy Arabia and Syria failed in their bid to defuse tensions over the tribunal and find a compromise between the two rival camps. For months, Hezbullies has been pressing Hariri to disavow the Netherlands-based court, which is reportedly set to indict senior members of the Death Eater party. The group has accused the tribunal of being part of a US-Israeli plot and has warned of grave repercussions should any of its members be implicated by the court. Hezbullies and its allies withdrew from the government, formed in November 2009, at the exact moment Hariri was in Washington holding talks with US President Barack B.O.Obama on the crisis. The 40-year-old Hariri has not commented on the walkout and was to meet later on Thursday in Gay Paree with President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was also expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Friday. Analysts said Druze leader Walid WallyJumblat ... who's been on every side in Leb at least four times... t, who holds 11 seats in the 128-member parliament, could play a key role in the formation of the new government depending on which camp he sides with. Hariri's pro-Western coalition has 60 seats and the Iranian-backed Hezbullies and its allies have 57. Jumblatt has been allied with Hariri but has moved closer to the Shia Hezbullies in the past year. "It is too early to say what I will do," Jumblatt told AFP on Thursday. "When the consultations on naming a new premier begin, we'll see." An official close to the Hezbullies-led opposition said there was still a chance for the Saudi-Syrian initiative to succeed, in which case Hariri would easily be reappointed premier. "If both sides agree to remain on that track, then no one can compete with Hariri," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP. "If they get off that track, then all options are open as far as other candidates for the premiership." |
| Posted by:Fred |