Lebanon government on the brink

BEIRUT – Lebanon’s unity government looked set to collapse yesterday after the powerful Hezbollah and its allies threatened to walk out over a UN probe into the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

Health Minister Mohamad Jawad Khalifeh, whose Amal party is allied with Hezbollah, said 11 ministers would tender their resignations Wednesday afternoon unless the cabinet convenes to discuss a long-running standoff over the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).’If the cabinet fails to meet, it means there is no government and as such 11 ministers will tender their resignations this afternoon,’ Khalifeh told AFP.The Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies have for months been pressing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier, to disavow the STL on grounds it is part of a US-Israeli plot.Hezbollah’s camp, which is backed by Iran and Syria, on Tuesday gave the Western-backed Hariri, who is in Washington, until Wednesday to convene a cabinet meeting on the tribunal.According to unconfirmed press reports, the STL is set to indict senior Hezbollah members in connection with Rafiq Hariri’s 2005 assassination, a scenario the militant party vehemently rejects.Environment Minister Mohammad Rahhal, who is close to Hariri, told AFP Hezbollah’s threat to topple the government was aimed at paralysing the state and forcing the premier to disavow the tribunal.’The scenarios put forth earlier were aimed at forcing Prime Minister Saad Hariri to reject the tribunal,’ Rahhal said. ‘When these scenarios failed, they declared political warfare on him today.’They think that by piling the pressure on him, Hariri will bend but they are mistaken.’Hariri on Wednesday was to meet with US President Barack Obama to discuss the political crisis.The Sunni premier has also held talks in recent days in New York with Saudi King Abdullah, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over the crisis. – Nampa-AFP