Lebanese government of June 2011
Encyclopedia
The formation of a new government led by Najib Mikati
follows five months of negotiations after the fall of the Saad Hariri
government. Mikati formed a 30 minister cabinet.
. President Michel Suleiman then tasked Mikati to form a new government amid concerns of instability.
's Change and Reform bloc, giving him alone veto power, along with one merge minister backed by both Aoun's political party and Michel Suleiman
's presidential power. This current lineup brings Aoun back to government leadership for the first time since 1990. Six ministers are from Najib Mikati
's prime ministerial team. Six ministers come from the other parties in the March 8 Alliance
, which include only two ministers each from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement
, whose leader, Nabih Berri
, sacrificed a Shiite allocation in order to give a portfolio for Faisal Karami, Omar Karami
's son. This resulted in an 7/6/5 inequality between the Sunni, Maronite, and Shiite shares in the Government for the first time since the Taif Agreement
. Some believe that this inequality favoring the Sunnis showed no intention from Hezbollah and their allies to rule the government. Finally, Walid Jumblatt
's share consisted of three ministers, which is no different from the former government.
Regarding the allocation of seats according to leaders' preferences, only Aoun and Mikati benefited from the formation of the new government, due to the increase in slots that they were given.
do not have a right to be assigned a key ministerial portfolio...[Mikati] is conspiring against coexistence in the country." He further accused Mikati of trying to ignite a conflict within March 8 by lying to the public and attempting to embarrass Hezbollah by stalling the formation of a new government. Security officials said that his supporters in his stronghold of Khalde
blocked the highway leading to the village and fired gunshot rounds in the air to protest Mikati cabinet.
However the appointment of Faisal Karami was greeted with celebratory gunfire in his hometown of Tripoli.
Mikati's government won a parliamentary vote of confidence on 7 July. The government secured the vote of confidence with 68 out of a 128 votes, after the March 14 alliance members walked out. Mikati then said that "The government confirms it will continue the path of the tribunal...and continue to cooperate in this regard as per the UN Security Council Resolution which set up the tribunal to see justice served."
Amid criticism Mikati said "I will not surrender to the logic of victor and vanquished." He also said "the motto of this government is ‘all for the country, all for work.'" He further thanked Nabih Berri after the latter had been summoned by Suleiman and Mikati to discuss the conclusion of the cabinet after Berri expressed reservations about such appointments as the sixth Sunni seat, the third Druze seat and the sixth Maronite seat.: "...because if it weren’t for his national sacrifices, the government would not have seen the light [of day]."
Cabinet Secretary General Suheil Bouji "This government will be a government for all Lebanon and will work for all the Lebanese people without discrimination." An anonymous source within Hezbollah said that though Hassan Nasrallah made attempts to form a new government he did not know the composition of the new government before its announcement. He added that though Nasrallah respect UN Security Council resolution 1701 the "Army-People-Resistance formula will be maintained" and that "Nasrallah does not think it is unlikely that Israel will attempt to blow up the domestic situation, but he is convinced that no domestic party will escalate the security situation." Berri spoke of the controversy in the West
over the new government: "[The] Americans, as well as many of their European allies, believed that we will not succeed in forming a government, as was the case with a number of their allies, the Europeans...But the formation of the government came as a surprise and a shock to many in more than one place, both internally and externally. Frankly, the Americans want to get their own man to head the [Lebanese] government...they repeatedly give us lessons in democracy. [March 14] has not yet believed, and does not want to believe, that it is no longer in power."
Hariri ordered his Future Movement, while at the same time the March 14 alliance
's secretariat general had set a "management cell" to deal with day-to-day activities in opposition.
Opposition MP Nadim Gemayel
said of the government that it was "Hezbollah's and Syria's Cabinet." Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni also said the new government was a "government of Hezbollah" and added that it was a "coup d'etats" by Hezbollah. March 14 leader Samir Geagea
signaled an intention to bring down the March 8 government as they claimed was dominated by Syria and Hezbollah: "The opposition’s road map with the new government has been clear since the first moment [of its formation], especially since its nature and identity are clear. It [the government] will work to isolate [Lebanon] at the Arab and international levels, thus posing a danger to Lebanon. This position stems from the government’s composition. It is a government of Syria and Hezbollah. It is Syria’s government because it was formed to serve as a defense line for the Syrian regime [to help it] face its circumstances [anti-regime uprising]. It is Hezbollah’s government because it was formed to face the indictment and the [Special Tribunal for Lebanon]." He also criticised Hezbollah's opposition to the STL saying that they were a part of the previous government that approved the country's cooperation with the tribunal. "The STL is not some kind of ‘barber shop’ that anyone can enter and leave whenever he wishes to. [Playing] with the STL will lead to strife and will place Lebanon in conflict with the Arab and international community. [March 14’s opposition to this cabinet will be constructive and democratic."
In contrast to March 14 leaders such as Geagea and Amin Gemayel., who criticised the government as dominated by Syria and Hezbollah, Maronite patriarch Beshara Rai expressed support for the new government and said it should be given a chance to prove itself.
A war of words ensued between Michel Aoun and the Future Movement with Aoun's statement that Hariri had been given a "one-way ticket out of Lebanon and the government [and Hariri's] era of paralysing state institutions in a bid to control the country [was over]." Following criticism from the Future Movement for the remarks he responded in saying that "the word one-way ticket does not mean [that I am threatening Hariri’s life], I was given one of these [tickets] in 1990 and I rebelled and returned [to Lebanon]. [Former] Prime Minister Saad Hariri can rebel and return [too]." Future Movement MP Khaled Zahraman said that there was a strain on the level of political discourse due to his claims that Aoun's rhetoric was increasingly more fiery and that the country could be headed towards a crisis. He called for all political parties to abide by certain norms and resort instead to dialogue. He said that Aoun was suffering from what he terms an "illusionary victory" with the entrance of FPM ministers into the cabinet. He also added that the FM could not be accused of corruption and that the party was willing to open all files without any exception. Furthermore he said that Hariri could not return from France as he claimed that threats against Hariri were serious.
Following Mikati's first visit to southern Lebanon as prime minister, where he met army officers and made assurances of Lebanon's intentions to carry out UNSC Resolution 1701, the March 14 Lebanon First bloc MP Okab Sakr
said that "[Mikati] wanted to assure Israel that Hezbollah’s cabinet will preserve stability and does not want to change the rules of the game, and Hezbollah wanted to deliver a message through Mikati that the party will not target [Israel]." Sakr also added that Hariri absence from Lebanon is preventing political strife.
Supranational bodies - Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams congratulated Mikati for his new government. "During my discussion with Prime Minister Mikati, I expressed hope that the new government would implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and Lebanon's international commitments." UNIFIL spokesman Neeraj Singh said that "In 2000, when Israel withdrew from south Lebanon, both the parties agreed to respect the Blue Line. UNIFIL’s mandate doesn’t touch upon a long-term solution [between Lebanon and Israel]. That’s something that has to be addressed through political means."
States - France urged Lebanon to "adhere to its international obligations, including cooperation with the U.N.-backed [STL]." - Iran has endorsed the new government. - Though Israel issued a warning to the new Cabinet to respect what it called "its international legal and border agreements," the Foreign Ministry issued a statement that read "Israel hopes that the new Lebanese government will contribute to reinforcing regional stability and respect for the law along its border. Israel expects the Lebanese government to apply U.N. Security Council resolutions, in particular Resolution 1701, and it calls for the resolution of all outstanding issues through negotiations and with mutual respect." Its spokeman Yigal Palmor later said the statement was not a call for immediate negotiations. "The way to solve everything, one day, is through negotiations. We call on the Lebanese government to adopt the negotiating approach. If they agree to negotiate, then yes, of course we would. If the other side agrees to recognise Israel and to negotiate with Israel and to solve problems through negotiations, then yes, we will negotiate with them." - Spain offered its congratulations on the formation of a new government. - President Bashar al-Assad
was the first to congratulate his Lebanese counterpart on the formation of a new government. - State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that "What's important, in our mind, is that the new Lebanese government abide by the Lebanese Constitution, that it renounce violence, including efforts to extract retribution against former government officials, and lives up to all of its international obligations." An annonymous official told Al-Hayat that the new cabinet was "disappointing" and that the US "does not have any reason to trust that the [March 8-backed cabinet] will be committed to Lebanon’s international responsibilities. We are waiting for the Ministerial Statement [to be drafted] and for actions [to be taken]. The key issue” is that Lebanon’s new cabinet respect its commitments to international agreements, specifically to UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) probing former PM Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. [The Lebanese government is] backing the Syrian regime at a time when Syria is oppressing its people and isolating itself internationally. The only state in the world that is moving toward [Syria] is Lebanon." An unnamed congressman threatened to withdraw financial assistance to Lebanon. Other officials also warned of the loss of US$100 million if they deem Lebanon to have moved "too far into the orbit of Syria and its primary strategic partner, Iran."
Media
The Canadian-based Globe and Mail read the government as a "militant Hezbollah ris[ing] to power" amid its claims that the government is "dominated by Hezbollah
."
An article in Press TV
elucidated the difficulty of forming a government in Lebanon to due to the sectarian nature of government that has not been overcome since the civil war
. It also said that another hurdle to government formation was external influences such as that of Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United States and France, however their influence was limited by the concurrent Arab world protests. It further noted that despite the 2011 Syrian protests a new government in Lebanon has "ensured Damascus that Lebanon will not turn into a base from which to undermine the Syrian regime...Lebanon's March 14 alliance supports the ongoing revolts in Syria as its media outlets have turned into a key platform broadcasting the news of the Assad opponents." This was countered by the new government which "do not want to call the ongoing situation in Syria a revolution or a popular uprising. Thus, the minority bloc (March 14 Alliance) accused them of forming a pro-Syria government in Lebanon. Syria wants to send this message to others that it has regained its earlier power and position. Lebanon has always been a place for passing messages among the governments, and its problems have been solved when these governments reached an agreement with each other." One other reason that such hurdles were overcome, it said, was because of Walid Jumblatt's kingmaker
role just days after he visited Syria and met al-Assad.
with Syria, international obligations vis-a-vis the STL and such U.N. resolutions as 1701
. The STL, however, was read as the first test of the new government.
Following the third cabinet meeting to formulate a policy statement for the government, conflict emerged over the STL. The 12-member committee to draft the statement were in disagreement over an article in relation to the STL with some of the members saying there was no mention of the STL and others saying it was included in the draft but not discussed. Information Minister Walid Daouk said the issue had not been discusses. On 27 June, efforts to form a policy statement were intensified to resolve disputes over the STL, amid reports that the STL was planning issuing indictments for five Hezbollah members. However, a fifth cabinet meeting was still unable to formulate a policy statement before the constitutionally
-imposed deadline of one-month. The issue of the STL was the last remaining stumbling block. The Daily Star
said that some of the ministers involved said that the STL was facing the same sort of crisis as the government formation talks because of the "inflexibility shown by the team that refuses to include any STL formula in the policy statement," but were instead trying to "buy time."
According to the BBC
, the cabinet had indicated it would not allow the four Hezbollah indictees to be arrested, though the STL said it released their names to facilitate their arrest.
read these moves as endangering President Michel Suleiman's call for national dialogue.
said that he does support Suleiman’s call to hold a national dialogue but on the condition that it addresses the issue of non-state arms, in reference to Hezbollah's arsenal. He also added that the STL indictment issue could be resolved to avoid a "tense atmosphere" if the indictees were handed into the respective authorities. He further noted that in his opinion March 8 would pressure the government into transfering the file on unreliable witnesses of the STL to the Justice Council, in what he termed would be "illegal." Finally he added that according to him the new government would implement Hezbollah’s orders because it cannot reject what is "impose[d]" on it.
In August, a Future Movement statement responding to Hassan Nasrallah's threat to attack Israeli oil installations if Lebanon’s potential facilities are attacked read:
Fatfat later claimed that neither Aoun nor Mikati make any decisions as, according to him, Hezbollah holds full power over the government. He said in reference to Aoun's threat to withdraw from the cabinet if it does not pursue development projects that "such decisions are in the hands of [Hezbollah Secretary General] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Syrian President [Bashar al-Assad]. [Threats to resign are a form of internal pressure [in order to improve] circumstances. Hezbollah may feel at a certain [point] that it needs to obstruct the cabinet to avoid making big decisions linked to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and to dealing with the Syrian situation in the UN Security Council. The cabinet will then be obstructed and transformed into a caretaker one."http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=305402#ixzz1W87Ti9Z1
Najib Mikati
Najib Azmi Mikati is a Lebanese politician, billionaire and is the current Prime Minister of Lebanon since 13 June 2011. From April 2005 to July 2005 he was Prime Minister of Lebanon in a caretaker government...
follows five months of negotiations after the fall of the Saad Hariri
Saad Hariri
Saad-eddine Rafiq Al-Hariri is a Saudi-Lebanese billionaire who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 2009 until 2011. He is the second son of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister who was assassinated in 2005...
government. Mikati formed a 30 minister cabinet.
Background
The Hariri government fell after the withdrawal on March 8 of members from his cabinet following refusals to end cooperation with the Special Tribunal for LebanonSpecial Tribunal for Lebanon
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is an international tribunal for the prosecution under Lebanese law of those responsible for the assassination of Rafic Hariri on February 14, 2005. The tribunal also has jurisdiction over a series of other attacks in Lebanon if they are proven to be connected...
. President Michel Suleiman then tasked Mikati to form a new government amid concerns of instability.
Method
Eleven ministers were selected by Michel AounMichel Aoun
Michel Naim Aoun is a former Lebanese Army Commander and he is one of the allies of Hezbollah. From 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990, he has served as Prime Minister of the legal one of two rival governments that contended for power. He declared "The Liberation War" against the Syrian...
's Change and Reform bloc, giving him alone veto power, along with one merge minister backed by both Aoun's political party and Michel Suleiman
Michel Suleiman
Michel Suleiman or Sleiman is the President of Lebanon. Before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. After LAF commander Émile Lahoud took office as president in November of 1998, Suleiman succeeded him, taking his place in December...
's presidential power. This current lineup brings Aoun back to government leadership for the first time since 1990. Six ministers are from Najib Mikati
Najib Mikati
Najib Azmi Mikati is a Lebanese politician, billionaire and is the current Prime Minister of Lebanon since 13 June 2011. From April 2005 to July 2005 he was Prime Minister of Lebanon in a caretaker government...
's prime ministerial team. Six ministers come from the other parties in the March 8 Alliance
March 8 Alliance
The March 8 Alliance is a coalition of various political parties in Lebanon. It has been the ruling coalition since January 25, 2011 when the alliance managed to nominate Najib Mikati as the new prime minister.-History:...
, which include only two ministers each from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement
Amal Movement
Amal Movement is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments the acronym for which, in Arabic, is "amal", meaning "hope."Amal was founded in 1975 as the militia wing of the Movement of the Disinherited, a Shi'a political movement founded by Musa...
, whose leader, Nabih Berri
Nabih Berri
Nabih Berri is the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon. He heads the mostly Shi'a Amal Movement.-Biography:He was born in Bo, Sierra Leone to Lebanese parents. He went to school in Tebnine and Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon and later studied at the Makassed and the Ecole de la Sagesse in Beirut...
, sacrificed a Shiite allocation in order to give a portfolio for Faisal Karami, Omar Karami
Omar Karami
Omar Abdul Hamid Karami was the Prime Minister of Lebanon on two separate occasions...
's son. This resulted in an 7/6/5 inequality between the Sunni, Maronite, and Shiite shares in the Government for the first time since the Taif Agreement
Taif Agreement
The Taif Agreement was an agreement reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon." Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the decades-long Lebanese civil war, politically accommodate the demographic...
. Some believe that this inequality favoring the Sunnis showed no intention from Hezbollah and their allies to rule the government. Finally, Walid Jumblatt
Walid Jumblatt
Walid Jumblatt is a Lebanese politician and the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party . He is the most prominent leader of Lebanon's Druze community.-Family:...
's share consisted of three ministers, which is no different from the former government.
Regarding the allocation of seats according to leaders' preferences, only Aoun and Mikati benefited from the formation of the new government, due to the increase in slots that they were given.
Composition
Prince Talal Arslan said he would resign after not being appointed the Defense Ministry portfolio. He said that "I cannot participate in a Cabinet in which [Mikati] says that the DruzeDruze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
do not have a right to be assigned a key ministerial portfolio...[Mikati] is conspiring against coexistence in the country." He further accused Mikati of trying to ignite a conflict within March 8 by lying to the public and attempting to embarrass Hezbollah by stalling the formation of a new government. Security officials said that his supporters in his stronghold of Khalde
Khalde
Khalde is a coastal town south of Beirut, Lebanon. It is famous as a touristic destination in the summer especially for its various beach resorts. Excavations, now covered over, show that the site has been occupied since at least the beginning of the first millennium BC. A few kilometers south of...
blocked the highway leading to the village and fired gunshot rounds in the air to protest Mikati cabinet.
However the appointment of Faisal Karami was greeted with celebratory gunfire in his hometown of Tripoli.
Mikati's government won a parliamentary vote of confidence on 7 July. The government secured the vote of confidence with 68 out of a 128 votes, after the March 14 alliance members walked out. Mikati then said that "The government confirms it will continue the path of the tribunal...and continue to cooperate in this regard as per the UN Security Council Resolution which set up the tribunal to see justice served."
Reactions
DomesticAmid criticism Mikati said "I will not surrender to the logic of victor and vanquished." He also said "the motto of this government is ‘all for the country, all for work.'" He further thanked Nabih Berri after the latter had been summoned by Suleiman and Mikati to discuss the conclusion of the cabinet after Berri expressed reservations about such appointments as the sixth Sunni seat, the third Druze seat and the sixth Maronite seat.: "...because if it weren’t for his national sacrifices, the government would not have seen the light [of day]."
Cabinet Secretary General Suheil Bouji "This government will be a government for all Lebanon and will work for all the Lebanese people without discrimination." An anonymous source within Hezbollah said that though Hassan Nasrallah made attempts to form a new government he did not know the composition of the new government before its announcement. He added that though Nasrallah respect UN Security Council resolution 1701 the "Army-People-Resistance formula will be maintained" and that "Nasrallah does not think it is unlikely that Israel will attempt to blow up the domestic situation, but he is convinced that no domestic party will escalate the security situation." Berri spoke of the controversy in the West
West
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
over the new government: "[The] Americans, as well as many of their European allies, believed that we will not succeed in forming a government, as was the case with a number of their allies, the Europeans...But the formation of the government came as a surprise and a shock to many in more than one place, both internally and externally. Frankly, the Americans want to get their own man to head the [Lebanese] government...they repeatedly give us lessons in democracy. [March 14] has not yet believed, and does not want to believe, that it is no longer in power."
Hariri ordered his Future Movement, while at the same time the March 14 alliance
March 14 Alliance
The March 14 alliance , named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon that call for sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, led by MP Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon, as...
's secretariat general had set a "management cell" to deal with day-to-day activities in opposition.
Opposition MP Nadim Gemayel
Nadim Gemayel
Nadim Bashir Gemayel , is a Lebanese MP and a senior member of the Kataeb party, founded by his grandfather Pierre Gemayel in 1936. He is the son of former Lebanese president-elect Bachir Gemayel...
said of the government that it was "Hezbollah's and Syria's Cabinet." Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni also said the new government was a "government of Hezbollah" and added that it was a "coup d'etats" by Hezbollah. March 14 leader Samir Geagea
Samir Geagea
Samir Farid Geagea , born October 25, 1952, is a Lebanese politician. He is also a senior figure in the March 14 Alliance, alongside Saad Hariri and Amine Gemayel....
signaled an intention to bring down the March 8 government as they claimed was dominated by Syria and Hezbollah: "The opposition’s road map with the new government has been clear since the first moment [of its formation], especially since its nature and identity are clear. It [the government] will work to isolate [Lebanon] at the Arab and international levels, thus posing a danger to Lebanon. This position stems from the government’s composition. It is a government of Syria and Hezbollah. It is Syria’s government because it was formed to serve as a defense line for the Syrian regime [to help it] face its circumstances [anti-regime uprising]. It is Hezbollah’s government because it was formed to face the indictment and the [Special Tribunal for Lebanon]." He also criticised Hezbollah's opposition to the STL saying that they were a part of the previous government that approved the country's cooperation with the tribunal. "The STL is not some kind of ‘barber shop’ that anyone can enter and leave whenever he wishes to. [Playing] with the STL will lead to strife and will place Lebanon in conflict with the Arab and international community. [March 14’s opposition to this cabinet will be constructive and democratic."
In contrast to March 14 leaders such as Geagea and Amin Gemayel., who criticised the government as dominated by Syria and Hezbollah, Maronite patriarch Beshara Rai expressed support for the new government and said it should be given a chance to prove itself.
A war of words ensued between Michel Aoun and the Future Movement with Aoun's statement that Hariri had been given a "one-way ticket out of Lebanon and the government [and Hariri's] era of paralysing state institutions in a bid to control the country [was over]." Following criticism from the Future Movement for the remarks he responded in saying that "the word one-way ticket does not mean [that I am threatening Hariri’s life], I was given one of these [tickets] in 1990 and I rebelled and returned [to Lebanon]. [Former] Prime Minister Saad Hariri can rebel and return [too]." Future Movement MP Khaled Zahraman said that there was a strain on the level of political discourse due to his claims that Aoun's rhetoric was increasingly more fiery and that the country could be headed towards a crisis. He called for all political parties to abide by certain norms and resort instead to dialogue. He said that Aoun was suffering from what he terms an "illusionary victory" with the entrance of FPM ministers into the cabinet. He also added that the FM could not be accused of corruption and that the party was willing to open all files without any exception. Furthermore he said that Hariri could not return from France as he claimed that threats against Hariri were serious.
Following Mikati's first visit to southern Lebanon as prime minister, where he met army officers and made assurances of Lebanon's intentions to carry out UNSC Resolution 1701, the March 14 Lebanon First bloc MP Okab Sakr
Okab Sakr
Okab Sakr or Oakab Saker is a Lebanese journalist and politician, lost his father before he was born during the beginning of the Lebanese civil war...
said that "[Mikati] wanted to assure Israel that Hezbollah’s cabinet will preserve stability and does not want to change the rules of the game, and Hezbollah wanted to deliver a message through Mikati that the party will not target [Israel]." Sakr also added that Hariri absence from Lebanon is preventing political strife.
Supranational bodies - Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams congratulated Mikati for his new government. "During my discussion with Prime Minister Mikati, I expressed hope that the new government would implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and Lebanon's international commitments." UNIFIL spokesman Neeraj Singh said that "In 2000, when Israel withdrew from south Lebanon, both the parties agreed to respect the Blue Line. UNIFIL’s mandate doesn’t touch upon a long-term solution [between Lebanon and Israel]. That’s something that has to be addressed through political means."
States - France urged Lebanon to "adhere to its international obligations, including cooperation with the U.N.-backed [STL]." - Iran has endorsed the new government. - Though Israel issued a warning to the new Cabinet to respect what it called "its international legal and border agreements," the Foreign Ministry issued a statement that read "Israel hopes that the new Lebanese government will contribute to reinforcing regional stability and respect for the law along its border. Israel expects the Lebanese government to apply U.N. Security Council resolutions, in particular Resolution 1701, and it calls for the resolution of all outstanding issues through negotiations and with mutual respect." Its spokeman Yigal Palmor later said the statement was not a call for immediate negotiations. "The way to solve everything, one day, is through negotiations. We call on the Lebanese government to adopt the negotiating approach. If they agree to negotiate, then yes, of course we would. If the other side agrees to recognise Israel and to negotiate with Israel and to solve problems through negotiations, then yes, we will negotiate with them." - Spain offered its congratulations on the formation of a new government. - President Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...
was the first to congratulate his Lebanese counterpart on the formation of a new government. - State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that "What's important, in our mind, is that the new Lebanese government abide by the Lebanese Constitution, that it renounce violence, including efforts to extract retribution against former government officials, and lives up to all of its international obligations." An annonymous official told Al-Hayat that the new cabinet was "disappointing" and that the US "does not have any reason to trust that the [March 8-backed cabinet] will be committed to Lebanon’s international responsibilities. We are waiting for the Ministerial Statement [to be drafted] and for actions [to be taken]. The key issue” is that Lebanon’s new cabinet respect its commitments to international agreements, specifically to UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) probing former PM Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. [The Lebanese government is] backing the Syrian regime at a time when Syria is oppressing its people and isolating itself internationally. The only state in the world that is moving toward [Syria] is Lebanon." An unnamed congressman threatened to withdraw financial assistance to Lebanon. Other officials also warned of the loss of US$100 million if they deem Lebanon to have moved "too far into the orbit of Syria and its primary strategic partner, Iran."
Media
The Canadian-based Globe and Mail read the government as a "militant Hezbollah ris[ing] to power" amid its claims that the government is "dominated by Hezbollah
."
An article in Press TV
Press TV
Press TV is a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Iranian government. Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran, with bureaux in Beirut , Damascus , London , Seoul and Washington DC ....
elucidated the difficulty of forming a government in Lebanon to due to the sectarian nature of government that has not been overcome since the civil war
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
. It also said that another hurdle to government formation was external influences such as that of Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United States and France, however their influence was limited by the concurrent Arab world protests. It further noted that despite the 2011 Syrian protests a new government in Lebanon has "ensured Damascus that Lebanon will not turn into a base from which to undermine the Syrian regime...Lebanon's March 14 alliance supports the ongoing revolts in Syria as its media outlets have turned into a key platform broadcasting the news of the Assad opponents." This was countered by the new government which "do not want to call the ongoing situation in Syria a revolution or a popular uprising. Thus, the minority bloc (March 14 Alliance) accused them of forming a pro-Syria government in Lebanon. Syria wants to send this message to others that it has regained its earlier power and position. Lebanon has always been a place for passing messages among the governments, and its problems have been solved when these governments reached an agreement with each other." One other reason that such hurdles were overcome, it said, was because of Walid Jumblatt's kingmaker
Kingmaker
Kingmaker is a term originally applied to the activities of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick — "Warwick the Kingmaker" — during the Wars of the Roses in England. The term has come to be applied more generally to a person or group that has great influence in a royal or political succession,...
role just days after he visited Syria and met al-Assad.
Cabinet issues
As the new cabinet would meet for the first time, chaired by Suleiman, 15 June, the important issues on hand were the formation of a committee to draft a policy statement outlining the government’s position on such issues as Hezbollah’s arsenal and the STL. The cabinet was also said to discuss the relationsLebanon-Syria relations
Lebanon–Syria relations are the bilateral relations between Lebanon and Syria. The relationship between these two neighbouring countries in Western Asia is complex: Syria has had troops stationed in Lebanon and has exerted political influence in the nation for many years, however Syria has only...
with Syria, international obligations vis-a-vis the STL and such U.N. resolutions as 1701
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.It was unanimously approved by the United Nations Security Council on 11 August 2006. The Lebanese cabinet, which includes two members of Hezbollah, unanimously approved the...
. The STL, however, was read as the first test of the new government.
Following the third cabinet meeting to formulate a policy statement for the government, conflict emerged over the STL. The 12-member committee to draft the statement were in disagreement over an article in relation to the STL with some of the members saying there was no mention of the STL and others saying it was included in the draft but not discussed. Information Minister Walid Daouk said the issue had not been discusses. On 27 June, efforts to form a policy statement were intensified to resolve disputes over the STL, amid reports that the STL was planning issuing indictments for five Hezbollah members. However, a fifth cabinet meeting was still unable to formulate a policy statement before the constitutionally
Constitution of Lebanon
The Constitution of Lebanon was adopted on 23 May 1926.The most recent amendment of the Constitution was for the Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation , in October, 1989....
-imposed deadline of one-month. The issue of the STL was the last remaining stumbling block. The Daily Star
Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
said that some of the ministers involved said that the STL was facing the same sort of crisis as the government formation talks because of the "inflexibility shown by the team that refuses to include any STL formula in the policy statement," but were instead trying to "buy time."
According to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, the cabinet had indicated it would not allow the four Hezbollah indictees to be arrested, though the STL said it released their names to facilitate their arrest.
Other events
Another Future Movement MP Atef Majdalani suggested that "[Former] Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s return to Beirut is normal after [a few] months absence. It will give more momentum to the opposition, the Future Movement and the March 14 coalition. We are against this government and the way it was formed. This is a coup government, a Hezbollah government. Our declared goal is to bring down this government." Hezbollah then came in for criticism by Hariri for what he claimed was the sponsorship of "hatred media campaigns;" his Future Movement also issued a statement criticising what it called "a provocative media campaign" against Hariri and also warning that such tactics would deepen political tensions. It also added that though Hezbollah’s weapons liberated Lebanon following the departure of Israeli troops in 2000 it had "lost their legitimacy after they had been used against fellow Lebanese and after the party protected four of its members" who were indicted by the STL. The Daily StarDaily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
read these moves as endangering President Michel Suleiman's call for national dialogue.
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In July, opposition Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat said that the last remaining issue of contention was Hezbollah's arms which Fatfat said its MP Mohammad Raad would not discuss in a national dialogue committee. "The only disputed issue is the possession of arms and [Hezbollah] MP Mohammad Raad has refused to discuss this issue with the national dialogue committee." The Daily Star said that Fatfat’s criticism cast doubt on the probability of a resumption of dialogue to discuss dividing issues between the March 8 alliance and the March 14 alliance. Future Movement MP Nuhad Mashnouq also added that leaders of the parties in the March 14 alliance would consult on "a working paper" in order to coordinate working with the Mikati government. "This working paper seeks to eliminate the causes that led to the formation of this government: The domination of arms in political life and in the constitution." Another March 14 MP Boutros HarbBoutros Harb
Boutros Harb , is a Lebanese politician.A lawyer by profession, he first held political office when elected in 1972 as the Maronite deputy for Batroun, in the North Governorate of Lebanon, being appointed Public Transport Minister for Labour and Minister of the National Education and Art Schools...
said that he does support Suleiman’s call to hold a national dialogue but on the condition that it addresses the issue of non-state arms, in reference to Hezbollah's arsenal. He also added that the STL indictment issue could be resolved to avoid a "tense atmosphere" if the indictees were handed into the respective authorities. He further noted that in his opinion March 8 would pressure the government into transfering the file on unreliable witnesses of the STL to the Justice Council, in what he termed would be "illegal." Finally he added that according to him the new government would implement Hezbollah’s orders because it cannot reject what is "impose[d]" on it.
In August, a Future Movement statement responding to Hassan Nasrallah's threat to attack Israeli oil installations if Lebanon’s potential facilities are attacked read:
[The Mikati government has] shown that the decision is in the hands of Hezbollah and no one else. The party is the mentor of the government, deciding on its behalf and acting in its name. [Nasrallah’s] threats concerning oil and gas reserves in Lebanese waters are a confiscation of the role of the Lebanese state and its institutions. The state and its institutions should be exclusively in charge of preserving Lebanon’s sovereignty. This responsibility is neither that of a party nor of an individual but rather the responsibility of all Lebanese."
Fatfat later claimed that neither Aoun nor Mikati make any decisions as, according to him, Hezbollah holds full power over the government. He said in reference to Aoun's threat to withdraw from the cabinet if it does not pursue development projects that "such decisions are in the hands of [Hezbollah Secretary General] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Syrian President [Bashar al-Assad]. [Threats to resign are a form of internal pressure [in order to improve] circumstances. Hezbollah may feel at a certain [point] that it needs to obstruct the cabinet to avoid making big decisions linked to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and to dealing with the Syrian situation in the UN Security Council. The cabinet will then be obstructed and transformed into a caretaker one."http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=305402#ixzz1W87Ti9Z1