Lebanon Daily News

[Maldini]

This thread dedicate to the news from Lebanon

 

 

Feel free to submit news

[Maldini]

Israeli warplanes fly low over Beirut, suburbs

 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut, its suburbs and large areas of south Lebanon on Tuesday, witnesses and Lebanese security sources said.

 

UN peacekeepers and Lebanon say Israeli overflights violate Security Council Resolution 1701 that Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in August.

 

Israel says its combat planes would continue to fly over Lebanon to ensure that weapons are not smuggled into southern Lebanon from Syria to resupply Hezbollah.

 

Security sources said eight planes entered Lebanese airspace from the south and flew north to Beirut and its southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israeli air raids during the war destroyed large districts of the southern suburbs and several towns and villages in south Lebanon.

[Maldini]

Hezbollah threatens protests in Lebanon

 

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah is threatening street protests to force early elections in Lebanon if its demands are not met for a "national unity" Cabinet that would give the Islamic militants and their allies veto power over key decisions.

 

The bold move reflects the Shiite group's push to consolidate the political power it gained following its self-proclaimed victory in its punishing summer war with Israel . The effort seems certain to further exacerbate an already tense political situation in Lebanon, where the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has refused earlier Hezbollah calls to step down and allow the formation of a new Cabinet.

 

It could also lead to violence, with pro-government groups warning of a confrontation with militants in the streets.

 

"Our concept of the national unity government is that all the basic forces in Lebanon be in it ... actual and serious participation, not an aesthetic participation," Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, said in a lengthy interview on Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV Tuesday night.

 

In the same interview, Nasrallah said that "serious negotiations" were taking place over the two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 capture by his militant group sparked the 34-day war.

 

He said a negotiator appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been meeting with Hezbollah and Israeli officials. He would not provide details about the negotiations, but told Al-Manar: "We have reached a stage of exchanging ideas, proposals or conditions."

 

The Israeli government declined to comment on the assertion.

 

"We don't comment about anything that has to do with the abducted soldiers. Israel will do all it takes to get their release without hurting Israel's security," spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.

 

Nasrallah also warned that any attempts by the beefed-up U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah would transform the country into another Iraq or Afghanistan . He did not elaborate

 

A U.N.-brokered cease-fire that ended the fighting on Aug. 14 does not give a direct mandate to the peacekeepers to take away Hezbollah's weapons by force, unless the guerrillas are caught in the buffer zone along the border with Israel.

 

On the domestic front, Nasrallah said Hezbollah and its allies should comprise one-third of the 24-member Cabinet. That effectively means the guerrilla group and allies could veto key decisions. A two-thirds vote in the Cabinet is needed to pass decisions that are not made by consensus. A resignation of one-third of the Cabinet automatically brings down the government

 

The move, if successful, would significantly raise Hezbollah's standing in the Cabinet, where it and its Shiite ally, Amal, currently have five ministers. Such veto power and influence in decision-making would also bolster their standing in the 128-seat parliament, where the group and its allies hold less than half the seats, compared to 70 seats held by the anti-Syrian majority.

 

Saniora has repeatedly rejected the idea of a new government, contending that his Cabinet achieved much for the country and did its best to stop the war. His supporters say that Hezbollah and its backers, in pushing for greater political power, are doing Damascus' bidding and are trying to undermine the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005.

 

The assassination sparked massive street protests and prmpted Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon under international pressure. The parliament, however, has lacked the strength to force pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud out of office or to eliminate Syria's proxy influence through local allies like Hezbollah.

 

In the face of Nasrallah's ultimatum, government supporters have threatened popular counter-protests, raising fears of a repeat of the kind of sectarian clashes between Lebanon's Sunnis, Shiites, Druse and Christians that ravaged the country during its 15-year civil war.

 

Leaders of Anti-Syrian factions have repeatedly warned of violence if Hezbollah supporters pour into the streets.

 

Walid Jumblatt, a member of parliament, was quoted by Lebanese newspapers Wednesday as warning during a visit to Washington that "threats by some forces in Lebanon to resort to street (protests) in order to bring down the government" would "lead to anarchy."

 

Nasrallah has played down any fears of violence in the threatened street protests, saying his campaign would be peaceful.

[GazeboflossUK]

US issues Lebanon 'plot' warning

 

The United States has said there is "mounting evidence" that Syria, Iran and Hezbollah are planning to topple the Lebanese government.

The White House said Syria hoped to stop the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

 

Spokesman Tony Snow said any attempt to destabilise the Lebanese government would violate UN resolutions.

 

A UN team has been investigating who was behind Mr Hariri's death in 2005.

 

Hezbollah demand

 

The BBC News website's world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says the White House statement appears to result from the tense situation in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is demanding one third of cabinet seats, thereby giving it a veto over decisions.

 

Such a veto would enable it to block approval of the international tribunal to try suspects in Mr Hariri's assassination, our correspondent says.

 

The Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has threatened street demonstrations in support of his demand.

 

The US is concerned that this instability could result in the fall of the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

 

The statement also casts doubt on any willingness by the Bush administration to consider Syria and Iran as potential partners over the future of Iraq, an idea that the Baker commission on Iraq is expected to suggest, our correspondent adds.

 

Hariri tribunal

 

The White House said it was "increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian government, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically-elected government.

 

"There are indications that one goal of the Syrian plan is to prevent the current Lebanese government from approving the statute for an international tribunal that would try those accused of involvement in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination," the statement continued.

 

In March, the security council approved the formation of a international tribunal that would try those accused of involvement in the murder of Mr Hariri.

 

The UN sent a draft plan for the tribunal to Lebanese authorities on 21 October but it has yet to be approved of by Lebanon's cabinet and parliament or by the UN Security Council.

 

A leading anti-Syrian legislator, Walid Jumblatt, has pushed for US support for the tribunal.

 

"If [Lebanese President Emile] Lahoud and Syria's allies in Lebanon don't want the international court, this issue will become dangerous," AFP news agency quoted Mr Jumblatt as saying.

 

Rafik Hariri, a self-made billionaire, was killed on 14 February 2005, along with 20 others in a massive blast on Beirut's seafront.

 

UN investigators said in September they had found new evidence that he was probably killed by a suicide bomber.

 

The assassination was widely blamed on Syria, but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly denied that his country had anything to do with the murder.

 

 

 

 

 

BBC.co.uk/news

 

 

Oh no, what's this.

[Maldini]

It's dengerous and complexed situation and every party should cure this situation carfeully and they should put Lebanon favour in the first place

[Maldini]

Syria denies plan to topple Lebanon govt.

 

By SAMAR KASSABLI, Associated Press Writer

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria on Thursday denied U.S. accusations that it was seeking to topple Lebanon's Western-backed government with the help of Iran and Hezbollah.

 

The Foreign Ministry said Syria has stayed out of its neighbor's affairs since pulling its troops out of Lebanon last year.

 

"The U.S. administration's attempts to circulate that Syria, Iran and Hezbollah are seeking to destabilize Lebanon are not true," the Foreign Ministry said.

 

"Since it withdrew its troops from Lebanon, Syria has voiced its support for anything that the Lebanese agree on through their national dialogue."

 

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday there was "mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically elected government."

 

A strongly worded statement from the White House did not detail that evidence. It did single out Syria for an alleged plan to derail possible prosecutions for the assassination of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister who had tried to draw his country away from Syrian domination.

 

Lebanese and international pressure following Hariri's February 2005 assassination forced Syrian troops to end their 29-year presence in Lebanon.

 

The U.S. ambassador to yhe UN , John Bolton, accused Syria and Iran on Monday of violating a U.N. embargo meant to keep Hezbollah from rearming after the Lebanese guerrillas' 34-day war with Israel last summer. He said Tuesday that violations of that embargo are part of the "evidence base" the White House used.

 

Syria denies it is violating the embargo.

 

Terje Roed-Larsen, the top U.N. envoy for Syria-Lebanon issues, said representatives of the Lebanese government "have stated publicly and also in conversations with us that there has been arms coming across the border into Lebanon."

 

The Lebanese government denied having shared such allegations.

 

"Neither the government, nor I told anybody about this," Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora reporters Wednesday.

 

Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said Roed-Larsen's comments were "inaccurate."

 

Israel has said weapons smuggling for the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah was continuing despite the U.N. embargo. Israel has said its military overflights of Lebanon are necessary to monitor the situation.

 

The Lebanese government has deployed thousands of soldiers on the border with Syria to stop smuggling. A U.N. maritime force led by Germany is patrolling the Mediterranean off Lebanon to enforce the embargo.

 

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah gave Saniora's government an ultimatum on Tuesday: establish a Cabinet of "national unity" by Nov. 13 or face street protests. Such a Cabinet would give the Islamic militants and their allies veto power over key decisions.

 

U.S. officials said they consider Nasrallah's threat serious.

[Maldini]

Syria and Iran are supporters of militant group Hezbollah

 

Syria, Iran dismiss U.S. accusation on Lebanon

 

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

 

 

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syria and Iran on Thursday dismissed a U.S. accusation that they are trying to topple Lebanon's government with their Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

 

Hezbollah said the U.S. backing of the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was "a blatant interference" in Lebanon's internal affairs and vowed to pursue its demand for a national unity government.

 

"This pure vilification is meant to raise turmoil in Lebanon and cause fallout with Syria, which paid with blood to maintain Lebanese independence and sovereignty," an editorial in Syria's government newspaper Baath said.

 

The White House said on Wednesday Washington had evidence that Syria, Iran and their allies in the Shi'ite Muslim group were preparing to topple the Beirut government, which is dominated by U.S.-backed politicians.

 

The comments came a day after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gave Siniora and his majority allies until the middle of this month to agree on the formation of a unity government or face protests demanding a new election.

 

"We do not care about such accusations. They're worthless," Syrian Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban told reporters. "They are practicing terrorism while accusing others of it. The problem in Lebanon is U.S. and Israeli interference."

 

The Syrian newspaper said the United States should make public any evidence of the alleged Syrian role in efforts to topple the Lebanese government.

U.S. officials say the information is classified.

 

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini denied the U.S. accusation and said Washington should review its policies in the Middle East.

 

"These are repeated claims aimed to create divisions among Lebanese people and their government," Hosseini told Reuters.

"HOLLOW SLOGAN"

 

The United States has no diplomatic ties with Iran and has strained relations with Syria, accusing both countries of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the Middle East. Both countries deny the charges. Iran says its offers only moral support to Hezbollah.

 

A State Department spokesman said Nasrallah's ultimatum has raised U.S. concerns about the intentions of Hezbollah and other players toward Lebanon, which is still recovering from Israel 's 34-day war with Hezbollah guerrillas in July and August.

 

Anti-Syrian politicians had rejected calls for a national unity government, saying such demands were aimed at regaining Syria's influence in Lebanon.

Hezbollah said the White House statement showed Washington's declared goal of promoting democracy in the Middle East was "a hollow and deceptive slogan."

 

"We stress that this American violation of our national sovereignty will not terrorize our people or stop it from practicing every one of its constitutional rights, led by the right to demonstrate, hold elections and choosing its government," a Hezbollah statement said.

 

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Washington's strong support of Siniora's government could prove its undoing.

 

 

Berri, a Shi'ite Muslim leader allied to Hezbollah, has called for roundtable talks between Lebanese leaders next week to discuss the formation of a new government.

 

Syrian forces pulled out of Lebanon after a 29-year presence following last year's assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

 

Mr Hariri was killed in an explosion in February 2005

 

A U.N. investigation implicated Syrian security officials in the killing. Damascus, which denies involvement, has deepened its ties with Tehran after facing increasing isolation by the West following the assassination.

[Maldini]

UN calls for end to Israeli flights over Lebanon

 

BEIRUT (AFP) - The United Nation has given a positive assessment of the situation in south Lebanon almost three months after the Israel -Hezbollah war except for continued Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace.

 

"Things in the south are looking very well, but we need an end to the overflights," Geir Pedersen, the Lebanon representative of UN chief Kofi Anann , said after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Sallukh on Saturday.

 

Israel has drawn intense international criticism by continuing the overflights despite the August 14 ceasefire that ended a month-long war between the Jewish state and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group during which the south was battered.

 

Last month, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the overflights were necessary to monitor what he charged was continuing arms smuggling by Hezbollah.

 

On Friday, a senior Israeli government official revealed on condition of anonymity that the United States had joined world governments in expressing discontent about continued Israeli flights over Beirut.

[Maldini]

Lebanon crisis deepens, cabinet meets

 

By Nadim Ladki

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's political crisis deepened on Monday as the last pro-Syrian minister quit the cabinet shortly before it met to discuss the framework of a special court to try killers of a former prime minister.

 

Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf, a supporter of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, resigned after five Shi'ite Muslim ministers from Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, quit over the failure of talks on their demands for effective veto power in the government.

 

The anti-Syrian majority coalition has accused Hezbollah of carrying out a Syrian-Iranian plan to overthrow the Western-backed government and foil efforts to set up the court to try the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

 

"As I can't find myself part of any constitutional authority that lacks representation from a whole religious sect... I herewith tender my resignation from the government," Sarraf, a Christian, said in his letter to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

 

The depleted cabinet later met to consider U.N.-drafted statutes for a special court to try Hariri's killers, despite the resignation of the six pro-Syrian ministers.

 

Siniora insisted on holding the meeting despite the resignations and despite opposition from President Emile Lahoud, and political sources expected the cabinet to adopt the draft on the tribunal.

 

The collapse of talks at the weekend deepened the country's political crisis and raised the prospect of street confrontations that would damage efforts to recover from a devastating war with Israel

 

LEGITIMACY

 

Siniora has rejected all the resignations but a senior source close to the ministers said they stood by their decision.

 

Lahoud opposed holding the cabinet session, saying that any such meeting after the resignations would be unconstitutional. Siniora said his government was still legitimate.

 

"The hidden plot has been revealed. It's a Syrian-Iranian plot to launch a coup against the legitimacy, stop the establishment of an international tribunal and foil (U.N.) resolution 1701," the anti-Syrian majority said in a statement.

 

Security Council Resolution 1701 halted a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in mid-August.

 

The United States has already accused Iran and Syria and Hezbollah of plotting to topple the government, which Washington holds up as an example of emerging democracy in the Middle East.

 

Hezbollah has denied trying to obstruct the Hariri tribunal, saying it had agreed to it but wanted to discuss the details.

 

Hezbollah said on Sunday it would stage peaceful street protests as part of a campaign to press its demands for better representation in government for its allies, especially Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun.

 

Anti-Syrian leaders have pledged counter-demonstrations should Hezbollah take its protest to the streets, raising fears of violence at a time of rising tension between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.

 

Many Lebanese blame Syria for the killing of Hariri, a Sunni, in a suicide truck bombing. Damascus denies involvement.

 

 

Hariri's 2005 assassination led to mass protests against Syria. Under international pressure, Syria ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon in April last year and anti-Syrian politicians swept to victory in ensuing elections.

A U.N. commission investigating the assassination has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian

[Maldini]

Lebanon cancels Independence Day events

 

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer

BIKFAYA, Lebanon - Lebanon canceled Independence Day celebrations and people huddled around televisions to watch the live broadcast Wednesday of dignitaries paying last respects to a Christian politician whose assassination threatened to push the country's political crisis into wider violence.

 

Members of the Phalange Party and hundreds of villagers walked past the coffin of Pierre Gemayel and paid condolences to his father, former President Amin Gemayel, in the family's home in this mountain town.

 

Pierre Gemayel, the minister of industry, was killed Tuesday when two cars blocked his vehicle at an intersection in the suburbs of Beirut and he was shot numerous times through a side window.

 

His killing — the fifth murder of an anti-Syrian figure in Lebanon in two years — immediately drew condemnation from all quarters.

 

The United States denounced it as an act of terrorism. Presiden Bush accused Syria and Iran of trying to undermine Lebanon's government, but stopped short of blaming them. Syria, too, condemned the assassination and denied any role in it.

 

Bush called Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Amin Gemayel on Wednesday to express his condolences.

 

"President Bush reiterated to Prime Minister Saniora the unwavering commitment of the United States to help build Lebanese democracy, and to support Lebanese independence from the encroachments of Iran and Syria," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for National Security Council at the White House.

 

In Vatican City , Pope Benedict XVI condemned the killing as a "brutal attack" and said he was close to the victim's family and to the "beloved Lebanese

people."

 

"In the face of the dark forces that try to destroy the country, I call on all Lebanese not to be overwhelmed by hatred, but to strengthen national unity, justice and reconciliation and work together to build a future of peace," Benedict told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square for his weekly audience.

 

The tension has generated fears of a return to the sectarian strife that tore the nation apart in the 1975-90 civil war. Lebanese politicians struggled to pull the country from the brink, urging calm and unity.

 

There were calls for revenge among supporters, but Amin Gemayel urged restraint, a plea echoed by the Maronite Catholic Church. Nevertheless, there was sporadic violence such as burning tires, wrecking vehicles and attacking offices of rival parties.

 

During the 1975-90 civil war, such a killing would have triggered mass sectarian retaliation. The war was sparked when a bodyguard of the late grandfather of Pierre Gemayel was killed in an assassination attempt against the leader, prompting Phalangist gunmen to attack a busload of Palestinian refugees.

 

In 1982, when Gemayel's uncle, President-elect Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated, his supporters stormed Palestinian refugee camps, killing hundreds of unarmed refugees.

 

Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud said Gemayel's murder was part of a "conspiracy" that began with the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

 

"I tell the Lebanese that today is the time for them to unite or else all of Lebanon will lose," Lahoud said in a TV address late Tuesday, when he announced the cancellation of Independence Day ceremonies.

 

"We will do the impossible to uncover the criminals because they are against all the Lebanese," Lahoud said.

 

Saniora also went on TV to appeal for unity and warn that Lebanon was facing "sedition."

 

 

Schools and shops were closed and traffic was light Wednesday morning as Gemayel's coffin, draped in the flag of his Phalange Party, was driven up to the mountains for mourning ceremonies at the family home before the funeral, scheduled for Thursday.

 

Motorists waving the Phalange Party flag — white with a green cedar tree in the middle — followed the hearse. The cortege stopped at the entrance of Bikfaya where, next to a statue of Pierre's grandfather, pallbearers lifted the casket on to their shoulders and carried it to the stone-walled house.

 

Supporters jolted the coffin in a traditional expression of extreme anguish as it passed through hundreds of mourners, many of whom were weeping.

 

Anti-Syrian factions allied with the Phalange Party have planned a huge turnout for Thursday's funeral in central Beirut, intending to show their strength as they wage a power struggle against Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian parties.

Hezbollah and its Shiite Muslim allies have threatened to call mass demonstrations to topple the government unless they receive effective veto powers in the Cabinet. Saniora's government is dominated by opponents of Syria.

 

In his TV address, Saniora linked Gemayel's slaying to the issue that sparked the crisis with Hezbollah: a plan for an international court, just approved by U.N Security Council , to try suspects in the Hariri assassination. He said

Lebanese should rally behind the government's backing for such a court.

 

 

In his phone calls Wednesday, Bush said "violence and unrest in Lebanon will not stop the international community from establishing the special tribunal for Lebanon," according to Johndroe.

 

Washington sees Lebanon as a key front in its attempts to isolate Syria and Iran.

 

The draft document creating the international court to try suspects in the Hariri murder, in which an U.N. investigation has implicated several Syrian officials, now goes to the Lebanese government for final approval.

 

Six members from Hezbollah and its allies quit Saniora's 24-member Cabinet earlier this month before it gave its backing to the court, sparking the political crisis.

The draft of the international tribunal also says that if political assassinations were found linked to Hariri's murder, the court will have jurisdiction to try suspects in those attacks as well.

[Maldini]

Lebanon's government backs U.N. tribunal

 

By HUSSEIN DAKROUB, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The U.S.-backed government on Saturday approved an international tribunal for suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, overriding the objections of Hezbollah amid a political crisis that threatens to spin Lebanon into violence.

 

Attempts to reach a last-minute compromise between the government and the pro-Syrian camp, led by Hezbollah, failed Saturday as the Cabinet moved forward with its meeting on the U.N-created court.

 

Lebanon's Syria -allied president denounced the vote as did Hezbollah officials, who warned that the Shiite Muslim militant group would go ahead with threatened mass street protests seeking to force the government from power.

 

The tribunal is key in the struggle between allies and opponents of Syria, which dominated its neighbor for nearly three decades until international pressure forced it to withdraw its troops last year. Anti-Syrian forces — mainly Christians and Sunni Muslims — dominate parliament and the Cabinet, but are facing growing resistance from the mainly Shiite pro-Syrian camp.

 

The political crisis became potentially explosive this week with the assassination of an anti-Syrian politician, raising worries of more violence that could tear apart the country apart long its fragile sectarian seams.

 

The anti-Syrian bloc brought out some 800,000 people for a rally at the funeral of the politician, Pierre Gemayel, on Thursday. Hezbollah has shown it can bring out similar numbers, and many people fear its threatened new demonstrations could start a spiral of street action.

 

Earlier Saturday, two key anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians met with Parliament Speaker Nabil Berri, an ally of Hezbollah and a Syria supporter, in an apparent attempt at a compromise.

 

U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora offered to put off the Cabinet vote for several days if six pro-Hezbollah ministers who quit the Cabinet earlier this month return.

 

But with Hezbollah demanding that the government be changed to give it and its allies more power, the reconciliation bid failed, and the Cabinet meeting approved a U.N. draft for the tribunal.

 

"Unfortunately, no agreement was reached because each side stuck to its position," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after the Cabinet meeting.

 

The Cabinet approval "puts the opposition before its options to confront the government. The time and the place will be decided," Sheik Hassan Ezzeddine, a senior Hezbollah official, said after the vote when asked if Hezbollah would carry out its threat to try to topple Saniora with mass demonstrations.

 

In the eyes of Hezbollah, the approval of the tribunal amounted to a rejection of its demands for more seats on the Cabinet, and Saniora's foes contend his administration is unconstitutional because it does not represent all of Lebanon's main communities.

 

"The government represents part of the Lebanese people, not all of them. Its decisions are void," Ezzeddine told Al-Arabiya television.

 

President Emile Lahoud also called the Cabinet's approval of the tribunal "null and void" for the same reason, according to a statement from his office.

Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah charged the tribunal vote would "deepen divisions in the country," and said the militant group would not take to the streets although he did not say when.

 

Saniora insisted the approval of the tribunal was not meant as a "provocation" against Hezbollah and its allies, according to a statement read by Aridi after the vote.

 

"It is in fact based on Lebanese unanimity on the creation of this tribunal and the Lebanese who are yearning to protect Lebanon, bolster its democratic freedoms and national security and bring it out of the cycle of killings and assassinations," the statement said.

 

 

Aridi underlined the government's "respect" for Hezbollah's opinion and would allow nonviolent protests led by the group, but added: "We will not give up our goals."

 

For opponents of Syria, the court is a major priority, and they hope it will uncover the truth behind the February 2005 assassination of Hariri in a bomb blast that killed 22 others, which they accuse Damascus of orchestrating. Syria has denied any role in the killing.

 

The court, which will sit outside Lebanon and have a majority of non-Lebanese judges, is to try four Lebanese generals — top pro-Syrian security chiefs under Lahoud, including his Presidential Guard commander, who have been under arrest for 14 months accused of involvement in Hariri's murder.

 

The U.N. investigation into Hariri's death has also implicated Brig. Gen. Assaf Shawkat, Syria's military intelligence chief and the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Shawkat is not in custody.

 

Hariri's death was the first in a string of attacks that killed five other prominent anti-Syrian figures — with Gemayel the most recent, in a bold daytime shooting Tuesday. Many Lebanese blame Syria for all the killings, which Damascus denies.

Since Gemayel's assassination, some ministers in Saniora's Cabinet have moved into the heavily guarded prime minister's building in downtown Beirut, fearing more slayings.

[Maldini]

Protesters seek Lebanon PM resignation

 

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hundreds of thousands protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies massed Friday in downtown Beirut seeking to force the resignation of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops

 

The protest, which police estimated at 800,000, created a sea of Lebanese flags that blanketed downtown and spilled onto the surrounding streets. Hezbollah officials put the number at 1 million — one-fourth of Lebanon's population.

 

"Saniora out! We want a free government!" protesters shouted through loudspeakers. The crowd roared in approval amid the deafening sound of Hezbollah revolutionary and nationalist songs. "We want a clean government," read one placard, in what has become the opposition's motto.

 

Launching a long-threatened campaign to force Lebanon's U.S.-backed government from office, Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies said the demonstration would be followed by a wave of open-ended protests.

 

Hezbollah had threatened demonstrations unless it and its allies obtained a veto share of the Cabinet — a demand Saniora and Lebanon's anti-Syrian parties rejected. The protests now aim to generate enough popular pressure to paralyze the Saniora government and force it out.

 

Heavily armed soldiers and police had closed all roads to downtown, feverishly unfurling barbed wire and placing barricades.

 

Despite Hezbollah's assurances the protests will be peaceful, the heavy security came amid fears the protests may turn into clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions or that Hezbollah supporters could try to storm Saniora's government headquarters.

 

Hezbollah's security men, donning caps, formed two lines between the protesters and the security forces to prevent clashes.

 

"I wish that the prime minister and his ministers were among us today, not hiding behind barbed wire and army armored carriers. He who has his people behind him does not need barbed wire," Michel Aoun, a Christian leader and Hezbollah ally, told the crowd.

 

Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has not made a public appearance since a September rally for the militant group, could not be seen Friday.

 

Inside the prime minister's building, Saniora went about his schedule, in what appeared to be a tactic to ignore the throngs outside. A day earlier, a defiant Saniora vowed his government would not fall but warned that "Lebanon's independence is threatened and its democratic system is in danger."

 

A demonstration last week for a slain anti-Syrian politician also drew hundreds of thousands of people downtown, filling Martyr's Square. But Friday's appeared larger, as protesters swarmed not only that square but others, as well as nearby streets and parking lots.

 

Supporters planned to set up camp around the clock in tents erected on a road outside Saniora's office and in a downtown square.

 

Hezbollah has tried to depict the protest as rallying all Lebanese, not just its supporters. It urged demonstrators to wave only the red and white Lebanese flag with its green cedar tree, in contrast to past protests that featured the group's yellow flag with a fist and Kalashnikov rifle.

 

The battle is a fallout from the summer war between Hezbollah and Israel that ravaged parts of Lebanon. The guerrilla force's strong resistance against Israeli troops sent its support among Shiites skyrocketing, emboldening it to grab more political power. Hezbollah also feels Saniora did not do enough to support it during the fight.

 

Pro-government groups, in turn, resent Hezbollah for sparking the fight by snatching two Israeli soldiers, dragging Lebanon into war with Israel.

 

Government supporters accuse Syria of being behind the Hezbollah campaign, trying to regain its lost influence in its smaller neighbor. Hezbollah and its allies, in turn, say the country has fallen under U.S. domination and that they have lost their rightful portion of power.

 

Tension have been running high between Sunni Muslims, who generally support the anti-Syrian government, and Shiites, who lead the pro-Syrian opposition, and Lebanon's Christians, who are divided between the two.

 

In a stark sign of the divide, the spiritual leader of Lebanon's Sunnis, Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, gave Friday prayers at the prime minister's headquarters in a show of support for Saniora, a Sunni.

 

"Fear has gripped the Lebanese," Kabbani said, appealing for the protests to end. "The constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but trying to overthrow the government in the street is a call for stirring up discord among people, and we will not accept this."

 

Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheik Naim Kassim, made it clear the fight is against "American tutelage" and said the protest action will continue until the government falls.

"We will not let you sell Lebanon, we will protect the constitution and people of Lebanon," Kassim said on television Friday, addressing Saniora.

 

The United States has made Lebanon a key front in its attempts to rein in Syria and its ally, regional powerhouse Iran. President Bush warned earlier this week that the two countries were trying to destabilize Lebanon.

 

Lebanon has witnessed a string of assassinations of anti-Syrian figures over the past two years, including a prominent Christian government minister gunned down last week and former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a February 2005 bombing.

[Maldini]

Progress reported in Lebanon mediations

 

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The government and opposition have agreed on a national unity Cabinet in which major decisions could be made only by consensus, the head of the Arab League said Thursday in a major step toward ending Lebanon's political crisis.

 

A new Cabinet is the key demand of the Hezbollah-led opposition, whose thousands of supporters have staged mass protests and daily sit-ins since Dec. 1, forcing Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to live in his office complex in central Beirut, surrounded by security forces and barbed wire.

 

Arab League chief Amr Moussa told reporters that more talks are required to conclude the deal, and he might return to Lebanon in the coming days.

 

The Syrian and Iranian-backed Hezbollah has demanded a veto-wielding one third of the Cabinet plus one seat. Saniora, who is backed by the United States and Europe, has rejected the demand and continued to convene meetings of the Cabinet, from which six Hezbollah-aligned ministers resigned last month.

 

Moussa said the parties had agreed on a formula that would give the anti-Syrian allies less than two-thirds of the Cabinet and leave the opposition short of its demand for just over one-third. A neutral Cabinet minister would hold the balance.

 

"We want to reach a formula of no victor, no vanquished ... a win-win situation," Moussa said.

 

A Sudanese presidential envoy, Mustafa Osman Ismail, indicated the outstanding point of contention is over who will be the neutral minister.

 

"The contacts will decide who he will be," said Ismail, whose country holds the chairmanship of the Arab Summit. He added there were "difficulties and obstacles" in the path of a final agreement.

 

Moussa called on all the parties to defuse the tension and expressed hope that the remaining issues could be resolved in the next two weeks.

 

"Progress is clear and consensus is rising. Please be patient a bit longer," he said. "We hope to finish in the next two weeks or at the end of the month."

 

Ismail said he did not expect an escalation in street protests, but he doubted that the sit-ins paralyzing the city center would end soon.

 

On Thursday morning, Saniora met with Sen. Bill Nelson ,a Florida Democrat and member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Nelson reassured Saniora of U.S. support — even if Washington decides to seek Syria 's help in curbing the violence in Iraq.

 

"I want to make it very clear that the United States will not abandon Lebanon to gain Syria's cooperation in Iraq," Nelson told reporters after the meeting.

 

Saniora later left his office under heavy security to fly to Moscow, a trip apparently intended to gain the support of Russia, a longtime Syria ally.

[Maldini]

Lebanon PM seeks Kremlin's help in Syria crisis

 

by Sebastian Smith

MOSCOW (AFP) - Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was expected to press President Vladimir Butin to use his influence with Syria to help defuse a political crisis that Siniora sees as a Damascus-backed coup attempt.

 

The Lebanese premier arrived late Thursday in Moscow as mass demonstrations against his Western-backed government continued in Beirut by supporters of the Syrian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its Christian allies.

 

On arrival overnight, Siniora urged Moscow to come to his help. "We are for the regularization of relations with Syria. I think Russia can exert some pressure in this direction," he was quoted as saying Friday by Interfax news agency.

 

In addition to Putin, Siniora was scheduled to meet Russian security council chief Igor Ivanov and parliamentary leaders, ITAR-TASS reported.

The Lebanese prime minister's arch rival, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is also due to fly to the Russian capital on Monday for a three-day visit, prompting speculation that Putin may attempt to broker a deal between the two leaders.

 

Moscow is eager to reassert its influence in the Middle East, which has waned since the collapse of the Soviet Union. As its chief arms supplier, Russia is recognized as having influence over Syria, its longtime chief ally in the region.

 

"Siniora has come knocking on the door to the one country that has privileged contacts with Iran where Western powers have none -- and also with Syria and Israel ," said Yevgeny Satanovsky, head of the Middle East Institute in Moscow.

 

"Russia once again has a strong position in the region and can play the role of mediator."

 

According to Siniora, Moscow could play a key role because Russia "not only supports Lebanon, but the whole Arab people.... This fact is very important for us," ITAR-TASS reported.

 

He singled out what he said had been Russia's diplomatic influence in pressing for an end to Israel's conflict with Lebanon in July and August, triggered by a Hezbollah cross-border raid into Israel.

 

"Russia gave political support to Lebanon this summer and did everything to end this terrible war."

 

Ahead of the trip, Lebanon's ambassador to Russia said that Siniora's visit was aimed at providing Russia with "trustworthy" information about the situation in Lebanon, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported.

 

Syria was the powerbroker in Lebanon for nearly three decades. It was forced to withdraw its troops last year amid a public outcry over the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri, widely blamed on Syria, a charge Damascus denies.

 

Lebanon's pro-Syrian political opposition now wants to bring down Siniora's government over demands for greater power-sharing, seen by the government as a ploy to reassert Syrian influence in the country.

Siniora warned the demonstrators Friday to show restraint, saying "these protests have no future."

 

"They know the dangers, there are red lines in Lebanon ... A takeover of the state is not achievable," he said in an interview published in The Financial Times.

[Maldini]

Bush warns Iran, Syria, Hezbollah on Lebanon

 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush deplored recent violence in Lebanon and warned that Iran, Syria and Hezbollah must be "called to account" for trying to destabilize that country.

 

While Lebanon's friends seek to help the Lebanese government build a free, sovereign, and prosperous country, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah are working to destabilize Lebanese society," Bush said in a statement.

"All those who seek a peaceful, constitutional solution to the crisis in Lebanon deserve the support of the international community, but those responsible for creating chaos must be called to account," he said.

 

Four people were killed and 152 injured Thursday in clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims apparently triggered by a row in a cafeteria at Beirut's Arab University between government supporters and opponents.

 

"I am deeply disappointed by the recent violence and bloodshed on the streets of Lebanon. It is all the more troubling that the violence occurred while Lebanon's legitimate leaders and friends were gathered together in Paris to help secure a peaceful and prosperous future for the country," said Bush.

 

The United States has pledged 770 million dollars in new aid to Lebanon as part of a major international drive to rebuild the country and bolster the embattled pro-Western government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

 

"This is a strong symbol of the American people's support for and commitment to the future of Lebanon," said Bush, who had tough words for Damascus, Tehran, and the militant Shiite movement Hezbollah.

 

Bush said they sought to derail the creation of the international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of Lebanon's former premier Rafiq Hariri and stall Hezbollah's disarmament as called for by the UN Security Council.

 

"Their goals are clear. They foment violence in order to prevent the establishment of a Special Tribunal in response to former Prime Minister Hariri's assassination, to prevent full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions calling for Hezbollah's disarmament, and to bring down Lebanon's democratically elected government," said Bush.

[Maldini]

Bush warns Iran, Syria, Hezbollah on Lebanon

 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George Bush deplored recent violence in Lebanon and warned that Iran, Syria and Hezbollah must be "called to account" for trying to destabilize that country.

 

"While Lebanon's friends seek to help the Lebanese government build a free, sovereign, and prosperous country, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah are working to destabilize Lebanese society," Bush said in a statement.

 

"All those who seek a peaceful, constitutional solution to the crisis in Lebanon deserve the support of the international community, but those responsible for creating chaos must be called to account," he said.

 

Four people were killed and 152 injured Thursday in clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims apparently triggered by a row in a cafeteria at Beirut's Arab University between government supporters and opponents.

 

"I am deeply disappointed by the recent violence and bloodshed on the streets of Lebanon. It is all the more troubling that the violence occurred while Lebanon's legitimate leaders and friends were gathered together in Paris to help secure a peaceful and prosperous future for the country," said Bush.

The United States has pledged 770 million dollars in new aid to Lebanon as part of a major international drive to rebuild the country and bolster the embattled pro-Western government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

 

"This is a strong symbol of the American people's support for and commitment to the future of Lebanon," said Bush, who had tough words for Damascus, Tehran, and the militant Shiite movement Hezbollah.

 

Bush said they sought to derail the creation of the international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of Lebanon's former premier Rafiq Hariri and stall Hezbollah's disarmament as called for by the UN Security Council.

 

"Their goals are clear. They foment violence in order to prevent the establishment of a Special Tribunal in response to former Prime Minister Hariri's assassination, to prevent full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions calling for Hezbollah's disarmament, and to bring down Lebanon's democratically elected government," said Bush.

[Maldini]

Shooting erupts on Israel-Lebanon border

 

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer

MAROUN EL-RASS, Lebanon - Prime Minister Fuad Saniora accused Israel on Thursday of violating the Lebanese border, and U.N. officers surveyed the area of the most serious clashes since last summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The overnight exchange of fire showed how tense the Israeli-Lebanese frontier remains nearly six months after a U.N.-brokered cease-fire ended 34 days of fighting.

 

Lebanese officials said their troops opened fire on an Israeli army bulldozer that had crossed the border near the village of Maroun el-Rass, scene of heavy fighting in the summer. The bulldozer crossed the so-called Blue Line — the U.N.-demarcated boundary — and drove about 20 yards into Lebanon, Lebanese military officials said.

 

No casualties resulted from the shootout, which lasted only a few minutes and ended with an Israeli withdrawal.

 

U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon described the shootout as a "serious incident."

 

Liam McDowell, a spokesman for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, said the exchange was "initiated by the Lebanese army" and that the Israeli bulldozer had crossed the "technical fence" to clear mines.

 

Crossing the technical fence would not violate the border, but crossing the Blue Line would.

 

McDowell said UNIFIL was assessing whether Israeli troops had crossed the Blue Line.

 

Israel said its troops went through the fence to search for explosives allegedly planted by Hezbollah on Monday, but that Israeli forces remained south of the international border and within Israeli territory — which stretches beyond the fence.

 

Hezbollah has denied planting explosives, saying they were laid before the war.

 

At the site Thursday, near this southern village, UNIFIL officers inspected some freshly turned soil — the presumed work of the bulldozer — and used a satellite positioning system to determine the exact location of the spot in relation to the Blue Line.

 

The atmosphere was relaxed. U.N. vehicles patrolled a dirt road along the frontier, and a group of Lebanese soldiers huddled around a bonfire to keep warm. Some Lebanese troops with binoculars stared at Israeli soldiers on the other side of the border fence.

 

Across the fence, the bulldozer that apparently began the clash was parked in Israeli territory.

 

Saniora discussed the border clash with U.N. envoy Geir Pedersen, telling him his government condemned the "new Israeli aggression on Lebanon's sovereignty and the violation of the Blue Line."

 

Speaking to Pedersen in front of reporters, Saniora said the incursion compounded the daily violations of Lebanese sovereignty by Israeli aircraft, which also violate the U.N. cease-fire resolution of August.

 

On Thursday morning, Israeli planes flew twice over southern Lebanon.

 

The Israeli military confirmed the overflights, saying: "The incident yesterday hasn't led us to change our aerial activity."

 

 

Israel says it has to monitor southern Lebanon to check that Hezbollah is not being re-armed in violation of the cease-fire.

 

Lebanese officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as a military statement was expected, said the army fired machine-gun volleys toward the bulldozer Wednesday night. Israeli forces retaliated by firing five anti-tank grenades at two Lebanese military vehicles.

 

In Israel, the military issued a statement saying: "We do not intend to provoke a deterioration or escalation of the situation, but we must respond when fire endangers Israeli forces."

 

Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin accused Hezbollah of "trying yet again to challenge Israeli sovereignty."

 

The shootout was the first exchange of fire between Lebanese and Israeli forces since Aug. 19 — five days after the cease-fire — when Israeli soldiers raided the eastern town of Boudai, deep inside Lebanon, in an alleged bid to interdict a shipment of Hezbollah weapons. An Israeli officer was killed.

 

The exchange of fire was not expected to undermine the cease-fire that has held since Aug. 14.

To maintain the peace in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL has boosted its troops to about 12,000 and Lebanon has deployed about 15,000 troops in the south.