BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon‘s pro-Syrian president bowed to the will of the majority on Thursday and appointed an anti- Syria former minister to head the first government to take office without Syrian troops in the country for 30 years. Highlighting the challenges facing the next government, Israeli troops shot at Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas in an Israeli-occupied border area in the second day of the worst violence seen there in six months.A Hizbollah spokesman said the guerrillas did not respond. Fouad Siniora, a former finance minister and aide to assassinated former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, was proposed by the Future Bloc led by Hariri’s son, Saad. All but two lawmakers nominated Siniora, a choice President Emile Lahoud was obliged to respect though relations between the two are said to be frosty, as they were with the late Hariri.”I would like to note the positive atmosphere of my meeting with His Excellency the President, which I hope would pave the way for cooperation between us to the serve the public interest,” Siniora told reporters. “This moment is not a moment for political debate or renewing disputes and differences,” he said. “Therefore we join Mr. Saad al-Hariri in extending hands to all Lebanese people and political forces to move forward with a comprehensive reform program.” Elections that ended on June 19 returned an anti-Syrian majority to parliament for the first time since Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
KFAR SHOUBA, Lebanon (Reuters) – Hizbollah guerrillas fired rockets and mortar bombs at Israeli posts in the Shebaa Farms area on the Lebanon – Israel border on Wednesday, witnesses said. Hizbollah confirmed it attacked three Israeli posts in the occupied area. Israeli security sources said mortar bombs slammed into an Israeli army post in the […]
Is it true that Saad Hariri is the winner in this election? Or it is General Michel Aoun? Or the Lebanese Forces or Hezballah? The final results gave the impression that everything was orchestrated. As if such a
BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon‘s MPs are set to re-elect a prominent pro-Syrian Shiite as speaker when they meet Tuesday as the first legislaure since the end of the 1975-90 civil war not controlled by pro-Damascus factions. Nabih Berri, who has held the post of speaker for the past 13 years under pro-Syrian regimes, opposes the disarmament of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist organisation.The disarming of Hezbollah, a key UN demand, is likely to be one of the thorniest issues facing a new Lebanese government that has yet to be formed following parliamentary elections that wrapped up more than a week ago.Most legislators decided Sunday to support the candidacy of Berri, who has held the post of speaker since 1992, following the four-round polls that were the first since Syria ended its three decade military presence in April.Saad Hariri’s Future Current movement holds the largest parliamentary bloc with 37 of 128 seats, and led the way in calling for another four-year term for Berri, but imposed certain conditions.Hariri, son of slain ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, and his supporters want Berri to facilitate an amnesty vote that would allow the jailed Christian former warlord Samir Geagea to be released from prison.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said political assassinations in Lebanon serve extremists groups, but security agencies have prevented attempts.Lahoud, accused by the opposition of having turned Lebanon into a police state with the backing of Syria, expressed hope an international commission will discover the truth about the Feb. 14 slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. […]
BEIRUT (AP)
By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer BEIRUT, Lebanon – A bomb blast killed a politician who was a harsh critic of Syria‘s power in Lebanon as he rode in his car Tuesday, police said, the second slaying of an anti-Syrian figure this month.The explosion that killed former Communist Party chief George Hawi came a day after Lebanon finished elections in which the anti-Syrian opposition won a majority in parliament, breaking the hold of Damascus’ allies on the legislature.Hawi’s allies blamed Lebanese and Syrian security services in the assassination. “Yes, it’s the Lebanese security system
Beirut (Reuters) – A Lebanese anti-Syrian alliance promised sweeping change early on Monday after winning a majority in the first parliamentary elections in three decades without Syrian troops in Lebanon.
An unofficial count for north Lebanon on Sunday night showed an alliance led by Saad al-Hariri sweeping all remaining 28 seats, while its rivals conceded they were heading for defeat.
The ballot, staggered by region over four weekends, is the first in three decades with no Syrian military presence after Damascus pulled its troops out in April.
“Final results show that we are ahead and show that the people have voted for change,” said Hariri, the son of slain ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri who is backing the opposition slate.
“It was not possible that after the martyrdom of Rafik al-Hariri, the withdrawal of Syria, that nothing would change.”
The victory means the 128-seat assembly has an anti-Syrian majority for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war.
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) – Azzam al-Jassem delayed casting his ballot in Lebanon’s general elections on Sunday to the last minute, waiting “for whoever pays more” to secure his vote and those of his family.
Taking refuge from a merciless sun with his cousins inside a makeshift kiosk he rented for the elections, Jassem said he had turned down offers ranging between $5,000 and $7,000 for the 100 votes his family commands.
“Buying a goat would cost $100,” he told Reuters. “My vote should not be cheaper than a goat.”
Allegations of vote-buying have marred the last round of Lebanon’s general elections in the north, where more than 100 candidates vie for the remaining 28 parliament seats.
In Lebanon’s first election in three decades without a Syrian military presence, an anti-Syrian list backed by Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri is squaring off against an unlikely alliance of pro-Syrians and Damascus’ erstwhile foe, Maronite Christian former general Michel Aoun.
Both campaigns have denied vote-buying. However, many people Reuters interviewed in the coastal town of Tripoli said campaigners from both slates offered them money for their votes.
June 19 (Bloomberg) — Lebanese voters in the north of the country started voting today in the fourth and final round of parliamentary polls that will determine whether the anti-Syrian or pro-Syrian blocs control the 128-seat house. The vote is the first for Lebanon since Syrian troops pulled out in April after 29 years of […]