Lebanon: 'Day of rage' in Tripoli over Hezbollah move Skip to main content

Lebanon: 'Day of rage' in Tripoli over Hezbollah move


Click to play
Protesters accuse Hezbollah of mounting a coup but the Islamist group says it has used only democratic means

Hariri's Murder Tribunal

Thousands of protesters have descended on the Lebanese city of Tripoli to take part in a "day of rage" over the likely appointment of a Hezbollah-backed candidate as prime minister.
Angry demonstrators set upon a vehicle used by Arab TV station al-Jazeera.
Smaller protests were also reported elsewhere in the country.
Protesters accuse the Shia Islamist movement of staging a coup after it brought down the Western-backed government in January.
On Tuesday, it became clear that Hezbollah had gained enough support from parliamentary deputies to allow the candidate it backs, billionaire businessman Najib Mikati, to form the next government.
The US has said it would have "great concerns about a government within which Hezbollah plays a leading role".
Lebanon's national unity cabinet collapsed on 12 January after a row over a UN tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of Rafik Hariri, the father of Western-backed caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Mr Hariri had refused to renounce the UN inquiry that correspondents say will blame senior Hezbollah figures for his father's murder. Hezbollah says the investigation is politically motivated.
Streets blocked TV pictures from a big square in Tripoli on Tuesday morning showed angry protesters waving banners and holding aloft pictures of Prime Minister Hariri and his father.

“Start Quote

Najib Mikati
I am a moderate guy, a moderate politician... My objective is the interest of Lebanon”
Najib Mikati Businessman and politician
Protesters attacked and then set alight a satellite truck used by al-Jazeera. There were no reports of injuries.
Schools and shops in the Tripoli area closed down in anticipation of the protests on what has been dubbed a "day of rage".
Smaller protests were also reported in the capital Beirut, where crowds overturned rubbish bins and blocked streets, and the mainly Sunni southern coastal city of Sidon.
At protests on Monday in Sunni Muslim bastions around Lebanon, demonstrators burnt tyres and chanted: "Sunni blood is boiling!"
Under Lebanon's power-sharing system, the post of prime minister is reserved for a Sunni, while the president must be a Maronite Christian and the speaker of parliament a Shia.
During consultations with President Michel Suleiman at the presidential palace on Tuesday, 68 parliamentary deputies expressed support for Mr Mikati - a Sunni and US-educated billionaire businessman, as well as a former premier - as opposed to 60 for Mr Hariri.
President Suleiman will announce his choice for the post of PM later on Tuesday - and it now seems clear that will be Mr Mikati.
It was the decision of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and six members of his Progressive Socialist Party to switch their allegiance from Mr Hariri that swung the vote.
Mr Mikati insists that, although he needs the votes of Hezbollah, he remains independent of the movement.
"I am not at all related to Hezbollah by any means," he told the BBC.
He said people were blaming him because he had Hezbollah's support, but he was not connected to Hezbollah politically and therefore the criticism was "not relevant".
Click to play
On Monday, protesters blocked roads and burned tyres in towns and cities
He added: "I accepted to be prime minister not to create problems but to solve problems.
"I am a moderate guy, I am a moderate politician, I am always at equal distance from everybody. My objective is the interest of Lebanon and the interest of the nation, the international security of Lebanon and especially to have good relationship with the international community."
Hariri refusal The protesters' anger is fuelled by the fact that they appear to have been outmanoeuvred by Hezbollah, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Beirut.
Although this crisis was triggered by allegations that Hezbollah figures were involved in Rafik Hariri's murder, it appears to be resulting in greater power in the hands of Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
Our correspondent says the question now is what kind of prime minister Mr Mikati will be, and what kind of government he will head.
Mr Hariri has already said he will refuse to join a Hezbollah-led coalition government.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that if the group's candidate was appointed prime minister, it would try to form another national unity government that included Mr Hariri's Western-backed Future Movement.
Hezbollah is on the official US list of foreign terrorist organisations and is subject to financial and travel sanctions.
.........
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12273178
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more

Ancient Rakhine City of Mrauk-U Proposed for UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Irrawaddy YANGON—Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture submitted the final draft of its nomination for Mrauk-U to become a World Heritage Site to UNESCO on Monday, four months after the ministry submitted the first draft of its nomination in September 2019. If the application succeeds, Mrauk-U will be the third place in Myanmar to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after the ancient cities of Bagan and Pyu. Mrauk-U is located in northern Rakhine State, around 60 km from the state capital of Sittwe. The ancient city was the seat of Arakanese kings from the 1400s until the late 1700s. At the height of their power, they controlled an area covering large parts of eastern Bengal, modern-day Rakhine State and the western part of central Myanmar. Much of the city’s remains are well-preserved and some 380 historic temples are scattered between the lush hills of northern Rakhine. Mrauk-U Heritage Trust chairwoman Daw Khin Than told The Irrawaddy on Tue...
1 comment
Read more

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more