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Lebanon's 'Unity' Government Collapses As Hizballah Ministers, Allies Resign

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 12.01.2011 17:18

Lebanon is in the throes of political crisis today after 11 members of the country's 14-month-old "unity" government resigned.

The resignations by Hizballah ministers and their political allies automatically forces the collapse of the government.

The resignations come after the failure of efforts by Saudi Arabia and Syria to forge a deal that would reduce tensions over a UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of then Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Under Lebanese law, the government automatically collapses if more than one-third of its 30 ministers resign.

Energy Minister Gebran Bassil told a press conference in Beirut today that 11 ministers from the 30-member cabinet had tendered their resignations because of a long-running dispute with Hariri -- the son of the slain leader -- over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Bassil also has asked Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman to name a new prime minister.

Hariri In Washington

The announcement by Bassil, a member of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement close to Hizballah, came just as Hariri was meeting in Washington with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss Lebanon's political crisis over the tribunal.

Hariri cut short his visit upon news of the government's collapse. He is flying to Paris to discuss the crisis with French President Nicolas Sarkozy before heading home for consultations with President Michel Suleiman.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is expected to issue indictments later this month against members of Hizballah in connection with the assassination. Hizballah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran and Syria, denies any role in the killing.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and France in a bid to reach an international consensus about supporting Lebanon and the tribunal.

A senior U.S. government official aboard Clinton's plane told reporters as the aircraft landed in Doha today that Clinton also was talking to "others," but did not specify who they were.

Hizballah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has criticized the tribunal, alleging that it is an "Israeli project." Nasrallah has called on the Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to denounce the tribunal and withdraw all cooperation with it.

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/lebanon_hariri_ government_hizballah/2274261.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.