LEBANON: BOYCOTT BY CHRISTIAN DEPUTIES FOILS ATTEMPT BY PARLIAMENT TO ELECT NEW SPEAKER

Record ID: 344643

  • Title: LEBANON: BOYCOTT BY CHRISTIAN DEPUTIES FOILS ATTEMPT BY PARLIAMENT TO ELECT NEW SPEAKER
  • Date: 19th October 1988
  • Summary: OCTOBER 18, 1988 1. GV EXTERIOR, Parliament building. 0.04 2. SVs Deputies arriving by limousine as armed troops look on (6 SHOTS). 0.35 3. SV Mikael Al-Daher, Presidential candidate backed by United States and Syria, arriving and entering building. 0.42 4. GV AND SV INTERIOR, Empty parliament building as deputies walk in (2 SHOTS). 0.52 OCTOBER 17, 1988 5. GV AND SV PAN Cars down street and newspaper vendors at side of road (2 SHOTS). 1.01 6. GVs Closed shops and street scenes (4 SHOTS). 1.30 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 3rd November 1988 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WEST BEIRUT, LEBANON
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACP43Q2QI1Z0H9E3U04A5C1XXJ
  • Story Text: WEST BEIRUT, LEBANON

    The Lebanese parliament failed on October 18 to vote for a new parliamentary speaker to succeed Hussein Husseini who ended his one-year term the previous day.

    Only 26 of the 76 surviving deputies attended the session to elect a speaker. Most of the Christian deputies boycotted the vote because they said it would be unsafe for them to cross the Green line battle zone to go to the parliament building to Moslem West Beirut. The vote could not take place because it needed at least 39 deputies to take part.

    Lebanon is currently facing a political crisis. Two rival governments have been vying for power since the end of September. Iraq has been giving support to a Christian-led interim military government led by General Michel Aoun, who was appointed by out-going President Amin Gemayel. But Syria, the main power broker in the Lebanon, backs the Moslem-led government of acting Prime Minister Selim Hoss.

    Mikael Al-Daher, a presidential candidate supported by Syria and the United States in attempts to vote for a successor to Gemayel was one of the few to attend Tuesday's session.

    Lebanese Moslems staged a general strike in West Beirut on October 17 to protest against Iraqi political and military support for Christians.

    <strong>Source: REUTERS - MOUSTAFA KASSEM</strong>
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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