Source: Reuter
(Recasts with Nasrallah news conference)
By Nadim Ladki
BEIRUT, May 8 (Reuters) - The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Thursday the U.S.-supported Beirut government had declared war by targeting its communications network.
Hezbollah launched a new street campaign on Wednesday, piling pressure on the government after it declared the network illegal and removed the head of airport security, a figure close to the group, from his post.
Supporters of Hezbollah and its allies have blocked roads leading to the airport -- Lebanon's only air link to the outside world -- and other main streets, paralysing much of the capital.
Sporadic gun battles erupted between Hezbollah supporters and pro-government loyalists in the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country, wounding five people, security sources said. Similar clashes took place in Beirut on Wednesday.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the group's leader, said the only way out of the crisis was for the government to rescind the decisions and to attend talks aiming to end a 17-month-long political conflict with the Hezbollah-led opposition.
"This decision is first of all a declaration of war and the launching of war by the government... against the resistance and its weapons for the benefit of America and Israel," Nasrallah told a news conference in reference to the government's move.
Nasrallah described the fixed-line network that connects the group's officials, military commanders and positions as a vital part of the military structure of the group, which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.
"The communications network is the significant part of the weapons of the resistance," Nasrallah said via video link. "I had said that we will cut the hand that targets the weapons of the resistance... Today is the day to fulfil this decision."
Street confrontations this week have aggravated the country's worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war and exacerbated sectarian tension between Sunnis loyal to the government and Shi'ites who support the opposition.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
The army said the situation threatened its unity. "The continuation of the situation ... harms the unity of the military establishment," the army said in a statement.
The fragmentation of the army along sectarian lines in 1976 was a key moment in Lebanon's total collapse into militia rule.
Pro-government activists blocked a highway linking Beirut to the mainly Shi'ite south with burning tyres and mounds of earth and set up a barricade on the main road to the border with Syria -- a strong backer of Hezbollah.
"It's double jeopardy: the cabinet can't retreat or it is practically finished and can't go through with it to the end because of the balance of power on the ground," columnist Rafik Khouri wrote in the newspaper al-Anwar.
"And Hezbollah can't step back from its position because it would be agreeing to getting its wings clipped and can't go all the way because of the dangers sectarian strife poses for everyone."
Hezbollah has led a political campaign against Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's anti-Syrian cabinet. Friction has already led to bouts of violence.
The group was the only Lebanese faction allowed to keep its weapons after the civil war, to fight Israeli forces occupying the south. Israel withdrew in 2000 and the fate of Hezbollah's weapons is at the heart of the political crisis.
Wednesday's violence quickly took on a sectarian tone with clashes in mixed Shi'ite and Sunni neighbourhoods. At least 10 people were wounded.
Political sources said army commander General Michel Suleiman had rejected a government idea to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew. Siniora had told Future News television his cabinet was considering such a move.
Nasrallah also rejected the government's decision to sack the chief of the airport's security and said defiantly that the officer would remain in his post.
Hezbollah has deemed Siniora's cabinet illegitimate since its Shi'ite ministers resigned in 2006 after he rejected demands for veto power against government decisions.
The crisis has paralysed much of the government and left Lebanon without a president for five months. (Additional reporting by Tom Perry and Laila Basam; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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Hezbollah routs pro-govt gunmen; controls Beirut
09 May 2008 17:12:09 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Hezbollah seizes west Beirut
* Pro-government gunmen surrender
* Governing coalition denounces "armed coup"
* White House restates support for PM Siniora
(Adds White House, governing coalition statement)
By Tom Perry
BEIRUT, May 9 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah group took control of the Muslim half of Beirut on Friday in what the U.S.-backed governing coalition described as "an armed and bloody coup".
At least 13 people have been killed and 30 wounded in three days of battles between pro-government gunmen and fighters loyal to Hezbollah, a Shi'ite political movement with a powerful guerrilla army which is also an ally of Syria.
The fighting, the worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war, was triggered this week after the government tried to dismantle Hezbollah's military communications network. The group said the government had declared war.
In scenes reminiscent of the darkest days of the civil war, young men armed with assault rifles roamed the streets amid smashed cars and smouldering buildings.
Fighting died down as outgunned government supporters handed over their weapons and offices to the army, which has mainly been seen as neutral during 17 months of political conflict between the Hezbollah-led opposition and government.
The anti-Syria governing coalition condemned what it called "an armed and bloody coup" that aimed to increase Iran's sway and restore the influence of Syria, which was forced to withdraw troops from Lebanon in 2005.
The White House restated its support for the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and urged Iran and Syria to end their support for Hezbollah, whose followers have also brought large parts of Beirut to a standstill this week with roadblocks.
"We have confidence in the government of Lebanon," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters, adding that the United States was "very troubled" by Hezbollah's actions.
A senior opposition source told Reuters that Hezbollah and its allies would maintain the road blocks, including barricades on routes to the airport, until a full resolution of the crisis.
"All issues are linked. Beirut will remain shut until there is a political solution," the source said, referring to the dispute which triggered this week's violence and the rival sides' broader 17-month-long power struggle.
The protracted political crisis has paralysed the country and left it without a president since November 2007.
An influential pro-government leader called for dialogue.
Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze minority, said Hezbollah "regardless of its military strength, cannot annul the other".
"Dialogue alone brings results. Running away from dialogue is not useful," he told the pro-government LBC television.
KILLED IN ESCAPE BID
The dead included a woman and her 30-year-old son, who were killed when trying to flee Ras al-Nabae -- a mixed Sunni-Shi'ite Beirut district and scene of some of the heaviest clashes.
"They were trying to flee to the mountains. Instead ... they reached the hospital, dead," said a relative of the victims, who declined to give her name because of security fears.
"It was terrifying during the night. We couldn't even move about in the house," said another woman -- a resident of Ras al-Nabae who had fled the area at first light with her children. "We spent the night in the corridor."
Hezbollah had steadily seized offices of pro-government factions, including the Future group of Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, in the predominantly Muslim western half of the city.
Backed by gunmen from the Shi'ite Amal group, Hezbollah handed over the offices to the army. Hariri supporters also gave up their offices to the army elsewhere in the country.
Hezbollah also moved into Hariri-owned media outlets. Hariri's television and radio stations went off the air. Opposition gunmen of the Syrian Socialist National Party set ablaze a building housing studios of Hariri's TV station.
"It certainly leaves the government weaker and the Future movement weaker," said Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
But the group did not want to be seen as "occupiers of Beirut", he said and handing control to the army appeared the most likely exit.
The European Union, Germany and France urged a peaceful resolution. Syria said the issue was an internal Lebanese affair while Iran blamed the United States and Israel for the violence.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday the government had declared war by declaring the communications network illegal.
The group was the only Lebanese faction allowed to keep its weapons after the civil war to fight Israeli forces occupying the south. Israel withdrew in 2000 and the fate of Hezbollah's weapons is at the heart of the political crisis.
For a factbox on scenarios click on [nL09111664]
For a factbox on the crisis click on [nL09819749]
(Additional reporting by Nadim Ladki and Laila Bassam; Editing by Charles Dick)
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'US blocked Hezbollah-Hariri agreement'
Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:40AM
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Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri (R) was holding talks in Washington with US President Barack Obama (L) when his government collapsed last Wednesday.A former Lebanese minister blames the US for obstructing roads to a compromise agreement on a US-backed tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
In an interview with Press TV, Lebanon's former cabinet minister, Issam Noaman, said the United States has spoiled a compromise agreement between Hezbollah and Saad Hariri, head of the Lebanese collapsed government, in a bid to trigger a crisis hoping to end Hezbollah's indictment in Rafiq Hariri's case.
“They (US) want Hezbollah to be declared as a terrorist party; a terrorist group,” Noaman said.
Lebanon's national unity government collapsed on Wednesday, after eleven ministers, 10 from the Hezbollah-led March 8 Alliance and one close to Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, resigned.
The resignations came in protest to allegations made by US-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) against Hezbollah.
The opposition bloc have for months been pressing Saad Hariri to disavow the tribunal, arguing that it is part of a US-Israeli plot.
“They (US) in fact pressured Hariri not to accept any compromise before this particular resolution is declared,” said the former Lebanese minister.
“They don't care afterwards what happens, whether there is a judgment by the court or not. But once this accusation-resolution is declared they think that will denounce Hezbollah as a terrorist party,” he further explained.
According to Noaman, the opposition now enjoys a majority in the parliament and has the opportunity to form a new government.
The government's collapse plunged Lebanon into its worst political crisis since 2008, as Hariri was holding talks in Washington with US President Barack Obama.
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'Hezbollah not after power in Lebanon'Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:3PM
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan NasrallahThe Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah says it is not striving to gain power in the country, blaming rival leaders for their efforts to falsify the truth.
Speaking on a televised speech addressing people in the Lebanese city of Baalbek on Tuesday, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah rejected claims that the Prime Minister designate Najib Mikati was Hezbollah's pick for the post.
Nasrallah criticized certain political leaders from the rival camp for making efforts to mislead the public opinion in Lebanon and to falsify the truth.
On Tuesday, Mikati won 68 votes out of the parliament's 128 seats to achieve the required parliamentary majority he needed to become Lebanon's new prime minister.
President Michel Sleiman then appointed Mikati as prime minister amid protests by Saad Hariri's supporters who went on a rampage in various Lebanese cities on what they called “a day of rage.”
The win came two days after the discussions held between lawmakers and Sleiman and almost two weeks after the collapse of Hariri's cabinet due to resignation of 11 opposition ministers.
The collective resignation was in protest at a potential move by the US-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) to issue an indictment against Hezbollah.
The tribunal is investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former Premier Rafiq Hariri.
Nasrallah said the resistance understood the feelings of those who were angry at the development but went on to criticize their political leaders for instigating violence by misleading and exciting "good-hearted" protesters.
He said the opposition resignations were in line with the camp's constitutional rights and condemned the West's double standards regarding the parties in Lebanon.
He pointed out how a demonstration by resistance supporters would have drawn condemnations from the international community and the US in particular.
Nasrallah further revealed that Mikati's appointment came despite the intervention of different countries in the two-day parliamentary consultations.
He singled out a phone call by US Vice president Joe Biden, who contacted a Lebanese politician and urged him to give his backing to then caretaker Premier Saad Hariri.
The Hezbollah leader reiterated that the Lebanese resistance is not after gaining power in the country.
He called on all factions in Lebanon to join hands and help Mikati to form an inclusive partnership government, emphasizing that Hezbollah strongly opposes a one-color government.
The Lebanese leader condemned the US-sponsored Hariri tribunal as part of the failed effort by the West and its allies in Lebanon to topple Hezbollah and the country's anti-Israel resistance.
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FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in Lebanon
03 May 2011 16:59
Source: reuters // Reuters
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BEIRUT, May 3 (Reuters) - Deeply divided Lebanon, with no government since January, now faces extra risks from instability in its powerful neighbour Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is staging a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
The domestic political crisis and the spillover effects of the turmoil in Syria are damaging the Lebanese economy, expected to grow only 2.5 percent this year, down from 7.5 percent in 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Any conflict in Sunni-majority Syria, where Assad's minority Alawites have long held a disproportionate share of power, could fuel political and sectarian tensions in Lebanon, as well as disrupting trade, tourism and capital inflows.
Also hanging over Lebanon are possible indictments by a U.N.-backed special tribunal of Hezbollah members in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese ex-Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Here are some of the key risks to watch:
GOVERNMENT CRISIS
A political alliance dominated by Hezbollah, an armed Shi'ite Islamist movement backed by Syria and Iran, toppled the previous government led by Saad al-Hariri over his refusal to cut links with the tribunal seeking to try his father's killers.
Najib Mikati, a Sunni, was designated prime minister on Jan. 25. But disputes over cabinet posts involving Hezbollah and its Shi'ite and Christian allies, as well as President Michel Suleiman, have blocked his efforts to form a government.
One of the knottiest problems pits Suleiman against Michel Aoun, leader of the biggest Christian bloc in parliament, who wants to name the next interior minister as part of his share of cabinet posts. Suleiman insists on keeping his nominee, Ziad Baroud, in the job, whose mandate includes organising elections.
Mikati has yet to disclose how he would deal with the Hariri tribunal, which is now revising secret indictments issued in January. It is not clear when they will be made public.
Hezbollah, which denies any role in Hariri's killing, wants the next government to withdraw funding and Lebanese judges from the "politically motivated" court based in The Hague.
Enjoying Saudi and U.S. support, Saad al-Hariri, the main political voice of Lebanon's Sunni community, has become more outspoken in support of the tribunal since his government fell.
Israel, which fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006, has said it will target all of Lebanon in any new conflict because of the Shi'ite group's growing clout in government.
The upheaval across the Arab world has shoved Lebanon's problems out of the limelight. No foreign mediators have stepped in since joint Saudi-Syrian mediation collapsed late last year.
What to watch:
* Fate of Mikati's struggle to form cabinet
* Publication of indictments by special tribunal
FALLOUT FROM SYRIA
Lebanon's stability has long depended on Syria, which wields influence via Hezbollah and other local allies, even though it was forced to end a 29-year military presence in 2005.
The challenge to Assad family rule in Damascus is another complicating factor in Lebanon's already intricate politics. It may energise anti-Syrian Lebanese factions, or spur Hezbollah to tighten its own grip if it feels its Syrian ally is weakening.
Syria could easily stir strife in Lebanon, still recovering from its 1975-90 civil war, if it wanted to. It blames the unrest in Syria on Islamist groups and has accused pro-Hariri politicians of inciting and arming anti-Assad protesters.
Turmoil in Syria is already spilling over the border. Some Syrian dissidents, including a prominent blogger, are now in Lebanon. Hundreds of Syrians fled into northern Lebanon on April 28 after gunfire erupted on the Syrian side of the border.
The instability in Syria, Lebanon's only overland outlet, has also disrupted transport and trade.
What to watch:
* Tension between Syria's allies and foes in Lebanon
* Further border incidents, damage to trade and tourism
ECONOMIC REPERCUSSIONS
The prolonged political uncertainty in Lebanon, now coupled with turmoil in Syria and elsewhere, is taking its toll on an economy badly in need of reform and infrastructure investment.
Apart from lower growth, the IMF report also forecast that inflation would rise to 6.5 percent from 4.5 percent in 2010 and that the fiscal deficit would widen to 10.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 7.2 percent last year.
The Central Bank has ample foreign reserves of $31 billion to help keep the Lebanese pound
Caretaker Finance Minister Raya al-Hassan said on April 28 that activity in all sectors, including tourism, real estate and retail, was down. A capital outflow of about 1 percent of bank deposits had occurred in January, when political tension spiked.
Many depositors have switched into dollars, despite higher interest rates offered on the Lebanese pound, prompting banks to conserve their local currency holdings, rather than buying the treasury bills on which government financing relies.
Lebanon's public debt is expected to rise to $55 billion in 2011 from $51 billion in 2010. Analysts say it could hit $65 billion in the next three to five years unless the government cuts spending and boosts revenues to cut the fiscal deficit.
But even if a proper government was in place, higher food and fuel prices have increased public discontent, making it harder to implement any austerity measures.
What to watch:
* Dollarisation, net capital outflows, hits to tourism
* Signs of popular protests against economic hardship
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