Attempt to resolve Lebanon impasse

LEBANON’S PRESIDENT Michel Suleiman yesterday attempted to avert political deadlock by urging squabbling legislators to resolve differences over the formation of a new cabinet. He wants to approve the cabinet before attending the UN General Assembly meeting at the end of this month.

Mr Suleiman said he would not accept appointments that are not “balanced” between factions because this could lead to “outside intervention”. Caretaker premier Fouad Siniora warned that a stand-off could led to civil conflict, but veteran commentator Paul Salem said there is no cause for immediate concern because Saudi Arabia, which backs Mr Hariri, and Syria, which supports the opposition, have reconciled.

Legislator Ammar Houry, who is aligned with Mr Hariri, said: “There is no doubt Syrian-Saudi rapprochement has had a positive effect on cabinet formation.” However, he observed that internal matters need to be resolved.

On Monday the opposition, led by the Shia Hizbullah movement, rejected a 30-member cabinet submitted by prime minister-designate Saad Hariri. Hizbullah secretary general Sayed Hassan Nasrallah accused him of imposing a fait accompli while parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Amal party and a moderating influence, expressed dismay over the move. Nevertheless, Hizbullah spokesman Ibrahim Moussawi said he could see “no major obstacles” to further negotiations.

The sides have agreed that Mr Hariri’s bloc, which won a majority in the June election, should have 15 seats, the opposition 10, and the president five.

But Maronite Christian leader Michel Aoun, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement with 27 of the 57 opposition assembly members, insists on being given five cabinet seats, including interior and one for son-in-law (outgoing telecommunications minister) Jebran Bassil. Mr Aoun has been offered four. Mr Hariri holds that the opposition cannot dictate terms but it in turn argues that Lebanon’s decision-making process is consensual.

Shia ministers withdrew from the cabinet in December 2006 when Mr Siniora attempted to dictate policy, plunging the country into a crisis resolved only in May 2008 after street fighting compelled the factions to accept a powersharing deal brokered by Qatar.