LEBANON: Lebanese government collapses as eleven ministers from Hezbollah and its allies resign

Record ID: 216210

  • Title: LEBANON: Lebanese government collapses as eleven ministers from Hezbollah and its allies resign
  • Date: 13th January 2011
  • Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (JANUARY 12, 2011) (REUTERS) PRIME MINISTER SAAD HARIRI'S PARLIAMENTARY BLOC HOLDING A MEETING
  • Embargoed: 28th January 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon, Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1MWRV5GQM90L15WBN9MWDQEY5
  • Story Text: Lebanon's national unity government toppled as eleven ministers from the Hezbollah movement and its political allies announced their resignation on Wednesday (January 12).
    The collapse of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri government comes just before expected indictments against the Shi'ite group over the killing of Hariri's father.
    Lebanese politicians said on Tuesday (January 11) that Saudi Arabia and Syria failed to reach a deal to curb tensions in Lebanon over the U.N.-backed tribunal, which is expected to issue draft indictments over the 2005 assassination of Rafik al-Hariri. Hezbollah denies any role in the 2005 assassination.
    Its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has attacked the tribunal as an "Israeli project" and urged Hariri to renounce it, a demand the Sunni Muslim premier has resisted.
    Ministers called on President Michel Suleiman to form a new government. Gebran Bassil, a Christian government minister allied to Hezbollah, said Hariri had rejected demands for an urgent session of cabinet to discuss Hezbollah's insistence that Lebanon withdraw all cooperation with the special tribunal.
    "The ministers who are gathered here announce their resignation from the government and call on the president to promptly take the necessary measures to form a new government," said Lebanese opposition minister Gebrani Bassil.
    The stalemate has crippled Hariri's 14-month-old "unity" government. The cabinet has met, briefly, just once in the last two months and the government failed to get parliamentary approval for the 2010 budget.
    Tensions over the tribunal, which is expected to issue draft indictments this month, have exacerbated existing rifts between Hariri, who is supported by Western powers and Saudi Arabia, and Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria.
    Analysts said the resignations could set the stage for protracted political turmoil in Lebanon, which has endured a series of crises since Rafik al-Hariri's killing, including car bombings and sectarian street fighting in Beirut in 2008.
    Some people in the streets of Beirut reacted nervously to news of the government's collapse.
    "Now the economy will be affected and tourists will stop visiting and I don't know, maybe even we'll have war. God forbid that, I think the Lebanese are smart enough to avoid a disaster like this," said resident Zeina Bayram.
    "It's very natural if problems happen and we are used to them. I am very sure there will be problems," said another resident in Beirut.
    Amid news of the resignations Saad al-Hariri left Washington heading to Paris for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reported Hariri's office.
    A Lebanese official in Washington had earlier said that Hariri, who met U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House, was heading back to Lebanon.
    Members of Saad Hariri's parliamentary bloc held a meeting following the announcement of the resignations.
    "Of course the resignation of the ministers in this manner put the country on a new course and I expect that the President will now follow the constitutional procedures to declare the government resigned and begin deliberations on the formation of a new government."
    U.S. President Barack Obama, and the White House on Wednesday released a statement criticising Hezbollah's moves and warning against any "threats or action" that could destabilise Lebanon.
    Analysts have said prospects of a repeat of the violence of May 2008, when gunmen took over Beirut after government moves against Hezbollah is unlikely. But Sunni power Saudi Arabia, which backs Hariri, warned the resignations "will cause clashes once again".
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