Green Energy
The Star:
Hariri loyalists protest PM nomination in Lebanon
By Nazih Siddiq
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Hundreds of angry supporters of caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri burned tyres and blocked roads in Lebanon on Tuesday in protest against Hezbollah's nomination of Najib Mikati to form the next government.
Protesters set fire to a satellite truck used by the Arab television channel Al Jazeera -- seen by Hariri's supporters as favouring Hezbollah -- and burnt posters of Mikati in the northern city of Tripoli, which he represents in parliament.
In Beirut, protesters blocked a road with burning tyres and overturned garbage containers. A security source said shots were fired in the air and the army intervened, but no one was hurt.
The protests were part of a "day of anger" called by loyalists of Hariri, backed by Saudi Arabia and Washington, to protest against Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
The Shi'ite group and its allies toppled Hariri's government in a dispute over the investigation of his father's killing and won support on Monday for Mikati to replace him.
Mikati secured the crucial backing of Walid Jumblatt and six of the infliential local leader's supporters on Monday, giving him a majority of support among parliament's 128 members.
President Michel Suleiman was due to ask Mikati formally to form a government later on Tuesday.
"Sunni blood is boiling" chanted some protesters, calling on Mikati, a Sunni Muslim, to withdraw his nomination and waving blue flags of Hariri's Future Movement which says it will not serve in any government dominated by the militant Shi'ite group.
Mikati called on all Lebanese to show restraint.
Lebanon's power-sharing political system calls for the post of prime minister to be held by a Sunni, and Hariri supporters said any figure who accepted the nomination from the Shi'ite group to form a new government would be considered a traitor.
Hezbollah and its allies walked out of Hariri's unity government on Jan. 12 in a dispute over still confidential indictments by a U.N.-backed tribunal which is investigating the 2005 killing of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, the premier's father.
The political deadlock has deepened sectarian divisions in Lebanon, and Hariri supporters had already staged protests in several cities on Monday.
Politicians allied to Hezbollah have said the first priority of their new government would be to cut links with the tribunal, which is expected to accuse Hezbollah members of involvement in the 2005 killing. Hezbollah denies any role.
Hariri supporter Mustafa Alloush told the crowd in Tripoli on Tuesday that the overthrow of the government two weeks ago was part of an Iranian takeover. "It's an attempt to bring Lebanon into the Persian sphere. We will not accept that, and we will be on alert for them," he said.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has defended the movement's decision to bring down Hariri's government after he rejected demands to cut Lebanon's links to the tribunal, saying Hezbollah ministers and their allies acted peacefully and within the constitution.
The demonstrators in Tripoli called for Mikati, a telecoms tycoon who comes from the northern port city, to withdraw his nomination and said the investigation in Rafik al-Hariri's killing could not be blocked.
One poster read: "Tripoli will not accept the overthrow of the international tribunal."
- Powderkeg
NYT: Amid Protests, Ex-Lebanon Leader Assails New Premier By ANTHONY SHADID BEIRUT — Saad Hariri, whose government was toppled after the Shiite movement Hezbollah and its allies withdrew this month, declared their appointment of a new prime minister...
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Fox News: Hezbollah Staged a Mock Takeover of Beirut January 19, 2011 - 10:23 AM by: Dana Karni The Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported that Hezbollah activists performed a drill on Monday attempting to take over the Lebanese capitol of Beirut. According...
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Jerusalem Post: ‘Khamenei ordered Hariri killing, Hizbullah takeover' By JERUSALEM POST STAFF AND AP 01/15/2011 19:40 Lebanese minister says UN findings will be released next week; Saad Hariri calls for dialogue after government’s forced disintegration...
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myway: Government fall plunges Lebanon into uncertainty Jan 13, 6:49 AM (ET) By Z BEIRUT (AP) - The collapse of Lebanon's government plunged the country into deep political uncertainty Thursday after a year of relative stability, as the president...
- Lebanon Fate Hangs In The Balance
A Lebanese woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her ballot at a polling station in Beirut's Christian sector of Ashrafieh, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2009. Lebanese streamed to their hometowns on the Mediterranean coast and high up in the...
Green Energy
The Star:
Hariri loyalists protest PM nomination in Lebanon
By Nazih Siddiq
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Hundreds of angry supporters of caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri burned tyres and blocked roads in Lebanon on Tuesday in protest against Hezbollah's nomination of Najib Mikati to form the next government.
Protesters set fire to a satellite truck used by the Arab television channel Al Jazeera -- seen by Hariri's supporters as favouring Hezbollah -- and burnt posters of Mikati in the northern city of Tripoli, which he represents in parliament.
In Beirut, protesters blocked a road with burning tyres and overturned garbage containers. A security source said shots were fired in the air and the army intervened, but no one was hurt.
The protests were part of a "day of anger" called by loyalists of Hariri, backed by Saudi Arabia and Washington, to protest against Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
The Shi'ite group and its allies toppled Hariri's government in a dispute over the investigation of his father's killing and won support on Monday for Mikati to replace him.
Mikati secured the crucial backing of Walid Jumblatt and six of the infliential local leader's supporters on Monday, giving him a majority of support among parliament's 128 members.
President Michel Suleiman was due to ask Mikati formally to form a government later on Tuesday.
"Sunni blood is boiling" chanted some protesters, calling on Mikati, a Sunni Muslim, to withdraw his nomination and waving blue flags of Hariri's Future Movement which says it will not serve in any government dominated by the militant Shi'ite group.
Mikati called on all Lebanese to show restraint.
Lebanon's power-sharing political system calls for the post of prime minister to be held by a Sunni, and Hariri supporters said any figure who accepted the nomination from the Shi'ite group to form a new government would be considered a traitor.
Hezbollah and its allies walked out of Hariri's unity government on Jan. 12 in a dispute over still confidential indictments by a U.N.-backed tribunal which is investigating the 2005 killing of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, the premier's father.
The political deadlock has deepened sectarian divisions in Lebanon, and Hariri supporters had already staged protests in several cities on Monday.
Politicians allied to Hezbollah have said the first priority of their new government would be to cut links with the tribunal, which is expected to accuse Hezbollah members of involvement in the 2005 killing. Hezbollah denies any role.
Hariri supporter Mustafa Alloush told the crowd in Tripoli on Tuesday that the overthrow of the government two weeks ago was part of an Iranian takeover. "It's an attempt to bring Lebanon into the Persian sphere. We will not accept that, and we will be on alert for them," he said.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has defended the movement's decision to bring down Hariri's government after he rejected demands to cut Lebanon's links to the tribunal, saying Hezbollah ministers and their allies acted peacefully and within the constitution.
The demonstrators in Tripoli called for Mikati, a telecoms tycoon who comes from the northern port city, to withdraw his nomination and said the investigation in Rafik al-Hariri's killing could not be blocked.
One poster read: "Tripoli will not accept the overthrow of the international tribunal."
- Powderkeg
NYT: Amid Protests, Ex-Lebanon Leader Assails New Premier By ANTHONY SHADID BEIRUT — Saad Hariri, whose government was toppled after the Shiite movement Hezbollah and its allies withdrew this month, declared their appointment of a new prime minister...
-
Fox News: Hezbollah Staged a Mock Takeover of Beirut January 19, 2011 - 10:23 AM by: Dana Karni The Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported that Hezbollah activists performed a drill on Monday attempting to take over the Lebanese capitol of Beirut. According...
-
Jerusalem Post: ‘Khamenei ordered Hariri killing, Hizbullah takeover' By JERUSALEM POST STAFF AND AP 01/15/2011 19:40 Lebanese minister says UN findings will be released next week; Saad Hariri calls for dialogue after government’s forced disintegration...
-
myway: Government fall plunges Lebanon into uncertainty Jan 13, 6:49 AM (ET) By Z BEIRUT (AP) - The collapse of Lebanon's government plunged the country into deep political uncertainty Thursday after a year of relative stability, as the president...
- Lebanon Fate Hangs In The Balance
A Lebanese woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her ballot at a polling station in Beirut's Christian sector of Ashrafieh, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2009. Lebanese streamed to their hometowns on the Mediterranean coast and high up in the...