Friday, January 21, 2011

Lebanon: Saad Hariri confirms his candidacy for prime minister

The Prime Minister of the Lebanon, Saad Hariri, confirmed Thursday, January 20 at night, his candidacy for prime minister "in spite of intimidation" of Hezbollah. "There is a constitutional process that we will accept the result, whatever it is, despite the intimidation in the street or elsewhere," said a grave Mr.

Hariri during a speech to the nation broadcast live on television. Saad Hariri has accused Hezbollah and its allies, without naming them, of wanting to 'get out of the political spectrum "and the" politically assassinate ". His comments came after the decision on Thursday, Turkey and Qatar to suspend their mediation to unblock the crisis facing the country, after two days of fruitless contacts, and when the army continued to reinforce its presence in Beirut.

For months, Lebanon is divided about the UN tribunal (TSL) to investigate and try those responsible for the assassination in 2005 of former Sunni prime minister Rafik Hariri in a bombing in Beirut who had plunged the country into turmoil, and caused repeated crises. With the resignation of ministers in his camp, January 12, the powerful Shiite armed movement Hezbollah, which expects to be challenged by the STL, brought down the government led by the son of Rafik Hariri, Saad, after have lobbied unsuccessfully on it so that it disavows the STL.

Ally of Syria and Iran, Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel, accusing the court of being involved in a conspiracy "Israeli-American" to destroy him, and he warns "defend" against any charge. Saad Hariri's camp is supported by Saudi Arabia and the United States.

"Our efforts have resulted in a proposal that takes into account legal requirements and policies to address the crisis on the basis of the Syrian-Saudi initiative," explained the Turkish ministers and Ahmet Davutoglu BenJassem BenJabr Qatari Hamad Al-Thani, after two days of intensive discussions with key stakeholders.

"But taking into account some reservations, [ministers] decided to suspend their efforts for now and leave Beirut to consult their leaders," it added. The Turkish-Qatari proposal was submitted to Hezbollah in the night, but no reaction could be obtained of the movement. However, for Atef Majdalani, a member of the parliamentary majority Saad Hariri, the latest developments show that "Hezbollah has decided to resort to military action and to continue its move started with the resignation of ministers in his camp." "I was ready to go very far in the compromise (...), but again, the solution was stopped," said Saad Hariri on Thursday.

"At dawn, they (Hezbollah's camp) have informed the Qatari and Turkish mediators that they only wanted one thing: it is unacceptable that [I] returns to head the government", he explained. This suspension followed an announcement by Saudi Arabia that it was abandoning its mediation with Syria, speaking of a situation "dangerous" that could lead to the partition of Lebanon.

According to several political sources, the Syrian-Saudi initiative proposed that Lebanon disavows the STL in exchange for guarantees that Hezbollah would not employ its weapons against its rivals, and it would avoid the paralysis of state institutions . The new crisis is causing increasing concern the international community, which fears a resurgence of violence, especially after the filing Monday, the act of accusation, the contents remained confidential for now.

According to correspondents of the site, the army continued to reinforce its forces in the Lebanese capital, with the appearance of tanks - particularly around public institutions, including the Serail, the prime minister's residence - and the deployment of roadblocks.

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