Nasrallah says opposition will not support Hariri as premier

Sun, 16 Jan 2011


Beirut - The Hezbollah-led Lebanese political opposition will not support the naming of caretaker premier Saad Hariri to form a new government, the Shiite movement's leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said late Sunday.

"The opposition has unanimously agreed not to name Saad Hariri as prime minister of the new government," Nasrallah said during a televised speech on the Hezbollah-run al-Manar television.

"The opposition will exercise its own national convictions and will not be intimidated by the world's reaction on the government collapse," Nasrallah said.

On Wednesday, the opposition Hezbollah bloc withdrew from the unity government amid tensions over the investigation into the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri. Tensions have been high in Lebanon amid reports that the United Nations-backed tribunal plans to indict members of Hezbollah, a militant Shiite group.

Nasrallah stressed that the opposition "will not remain silent on any cabinet that neglects the demands of the people."

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman will start consultations Monday with the various parliamentary blocs to name a new premier, who will be able to form a government and end the political impasse in the country.

"The main reason for the government resignation is its inability to face the repercussions of indictments while insisting on financing a tribunal which is conspiring against the Resistance (Hezbollah)," Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah confirmed that Lebanese officials were informed that indictments in the Hariri case will be submitted Monday to the pre- trial judge Daniel Fransen.

The Lebanese MTV television station on Sunday quoted Special Tribunal for Lebanon Chief of Public Affairs Crispin Thorold as saying that General Prosecutor Danielle Bellemare would hand over the indictment to Fransen before Wednesday.

" I would like to be very clear and honest. In the coming days, there will be two tracks: The first is the parliamentary consultations to name a new PM, and the second is that of the upcoming indictment," Nasrallah said.

The expected indictment had divided the government, after reports indicated that Hezbollah members would be named in connection with Hariri's assassination.

Hezbollah has rejected any possible charges and described the work of the tribunal as a "US-Israeli project."

The tribunal was created by a 2007 UN Security Council resolution to try the people who plotted the attack which killed Hariri.

The former premier was assassinated in a car bomb attack on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005, which also killed 22 other people.

The political turmoil has prompted the leaders of Turkey, Qatar and Syria to attend a mini-summit in Damascus Monday to try to find a solution to the political crisis, in the wake of the collapse of the unity government.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/362604,not-support-hariri-premier.html.