Hezbollah denies pressure in Lebanon regime talks

Thu, 27 Jan 2011

Beirut - Lebanon's premier designate, Najib Mikati, embarked on a round of political consultations Thursday aimed at bridging deep divisions in parliament and forming a government capable of representing all of the country's factions.

Mikati, who is seen as a moderate who enjoys good ties with both Syria and Saudi Arabia, said he would seek to include all parties in his future cabinet.

The Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah denied Thursday that the movement had placed any demands on the newly appointed premier it has chosen to replace outgoing Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

"We did not give a list of conditions to prime minister Mikati," the head of Hezbollah's 12-member bloc in parliament Mohammed Raad said after meeting Mikati.

"What we asked for is a national partnership and a national salvation government in which all parties are in for the interest of the country," Raad added.

Hariri's refusal to break ties with the UN-backed Special tribunal for Lebanon (STL), probing the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri, prompted Hezbollah and its allies to bring down Hariri's government on January 12.

It is widely believed that confidential indictments issued by the STL's prosecutor earlier this month implicate leading members of Hezbollah in the assassination.

Hariri, who described the Hezbollah walkout from his government a "coup d'etat," insisted that his coalition will never join a government led by a Hezbollah-chosen premier.

Hariri's parliamentary bloc has also asked Mikati to clarify his position regarding the STL.

Meanwhile, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who went from being an ally of Hariri to backing Hezbollah in choosing Mikati, called after the consultations for dialogue.

He also voiced the importance of democracy and the need not to resort to violence.

"It is important to avoid issuing inciting statements that jeopardize the country's security," Jumblatt said.

Mikati, a 55-year-old billionaire, has said that he will attempt to form a cabinet of technocrats if he fails to convince all political parties to participate in his government.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/364628,pressure-lebanon-regime-talks.html.