Following are the main players in the crisis:
* "MARCH 14" ALLIANCE:
-- The anti-Syrian March 14 alliance first won a parliamentary majority in a 2005 election. Its name is derived from a rally held in Beirut a month after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri at which protesters demanded an end to Syrian influence in Lebanon.
Its main components are:
FUTURE MOVEMENT - SAAD AL-HARIRI:
Chosen to assume his father's political mantle in 2005, Hariri is Lebanon's most influential Sunni Muslim politician. He led 'March 14' through years of confrontation with rival factions backed by Damascus. Hariri blamed Syria for his father's death, but since becoming prime minister in November 2009 he has sought to mend ties with Damascus and has retracted his accusations of a Syrian role in the killing. A billionaire businessman, Hariri enjoys firm backing from Saudi Arabia and the United States.
LEBANESE FORCES - SAMIR GEAGEA:
Geagea, who heads the Lebanese Forces party, is a Maronite Christian and the only leader from the 1975-90 civil war who went to jail, serving 11 years for political killings. He was released in 2005. He declared himself a political prisoner.
PHALANGE PARTY - AMIN GEMAYEL:
Gemayel leads the Maronite-dominated Phalange Party. He served as president from 1982 to 1988. He took office after the assassination of his brother Bashir, an ally of Israel who had been elected president but was killed before he could take office. Gemayel's eldest son, Pierre, an MP and government minister, was assassinated in 2006.
* "MARCH 8" ALLIANCE:
-- The March 8 alliance coalesced in response to anti-Syrian protests that swept Lebanon after Hariri's killing. It is named after a rally held on March 8, 2005 to show support for Syria. Christian politician Michel Aoun joined the alliance in 2006.
Its main components are:
HEZBOLLAH - SAYYED HASSAN NASRALLAH:
Hezbollah is a Shi'ite Islamist group formed after Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and backed by Iran and Syria. Its power rests on its formidable guerrilla army, as well as its network of social and charitable activities. The United States lists it as a terrorist organisation. Hezbollah's secretary-general is Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. In parliament, Hezbollah's bloc is headed by Mohammad Raad.
AMAL MOVEMENT - NABIH BERRI:
Speaker of parliament since 1992, Amal leader Nabih Berri occupies the highest position reserved for a Shi'ite in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system. Berri has led Amal since 1978, when the Shi'ite group's Iranian-born founder, Imam Musa Sadr, disappeared on a visit to Libya. Berri has long been viewed as one of Syria's closest allies in Lebanon.
FREE PATRIOTIC MOVEMENT - MICHEL AOUN:
Aoun returned from exile in France in 2005 to win more seats than any other Christian leader in that year's parliamentary vote. Once one of the toughest opponents of Syrian influence in Lebanon, he struck an alliance with Hezbollah in 2006 and turned the page on a history of conflict with Damascus in 2008 when he visited Syria. A former army commander, Aoun served as prime minister from 1988 to 1990 in one of two competing governments until Syrian forces drove him from the presidential palace.
MARADA MOVEMENT - SULEIMAN FRANJIEH:
Suleiman Franjieh, a former interior minister, is a close personal friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Franjieh's father, mother and sister were killed by Christian gunmen in 1978 as part of a power struggle among Christian factions at the time. Franjieh's grandfather, also called Suleiman Franjieh, was president of Lebanon from 1970-76.
* OTHER POLITICAL FIGURES: PROGRESSIVE SOCIALIST PARTY - WALID JUMBLATT:
Lebanon's most influential Druze leader, Jumblatt has led the Progressive Socialist Party since the assassination of his father, Kamal, in 1977. Once an ally of Damascus, Jumblatt moved firmly into the anti-Syrian camp in 2004 and for several years backed the March 14 alliance. But he has re-positioned himself once again and last year sealed his reconciliation with Syria by meeting Assad in Damascus.
(Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:58AM
Lebanese minister hold a press conference in the northern Beirut suburb of Rabieh to announce their resignation, January 12, 2011.The US administration's interference in Lebanon's internal affairs has created a new crisis in the country, a Middle East analyst says, as the Arab country's government has collapsed.
Hassan Hanizadeh, in an interview with Press TV on Wednesday, added that the resignation of 11 Lebanese ministers from the opposition led by Hezbollah has thrown the government of Saad Hariri into a “new crisis.”
The Lebanese government collapsed on Wednesday after the ministers resigned from the cabinet over tensions stemming from a US-backed probe into the assassination of former Premier Rafiq Hariri in a bombing back in 2005.
“Following the resignation of the ministers, the cabinet of Saad Hariri has entered new crisis because based on the Lebanese Constitution withdrawal of 11 ministers mean the collapse of the cabinet,” Hanizadeh said.
He noted that the major difference between the pro-Western March 14 alliance led by Saad Hariri and the opposition March 8 coalition led by Michel Aoun is due to US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's efforts aimed at disarming Lebanon's Islamic resistance movement.
“On the other hand, the US is pursuing to name the Islamic resistance movement as the main suspect in killing of Rafiq Hariri and indict it by setting up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” he said.
Saad Hariri was in the US for a meeting with President Barack Obama when his cabinet was collapsed.
Hezbollah's decision to quit the ruling coalition came after its calls for an urgent cabinet session over the crisis triggered by the Washington-sponsored tribunal were rejected.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that the US-backed court would likely issue an indictment against some Hezbollah members based on testimonies which have already proven false.
Hanizadeh said he believed that Hariri “should prevent the court from issuing indictment against Hezbollah.”
“Although the assassination of Rafiq Hariri was a painful incident but the move should not lead to elimination of Lebanon,” Hanizadeh warned.
Lebanon has been in a political turmoil since the establishment of the US-sponsored tribunal.
In November, the Lebanese daily As-Safir said that the US was imposing "intensive" pressure on Beirut, using the slogan, "No discussions before an indictment is issued."
Syria and Saudi Arabia entered "strenuous negotiations" aimed at preventing Lebanon from plunging into a political crisis on the back of such indictments.
On Wednesday, Leader of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun announced that Saudi Arabia and Syria had been unable to resolve the dispute. He quoted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi King Abdullah as saying that the collaboration had drawn a blank.
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Timeline: Events leading to new Lebanon crisis
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Here is a timeline of events in Lebanon leading to the resignation of Hezbollah ministers and their allies from the government on Wednesday.
February 14, 2005 - Former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri is killed, along with 22 others, by a huge truck bomb in Beirut, triggering international pressure on neighboring Syria to end a 29-year military presence in Lebanon.
April 26 - Last Syrian soldiers leave Lebanon.
June 16 - An international investigation into Hariri's killing begins.
June 19 - Lebanese parliamentary elections end in victory for anti-Syrian alliance led by Hariri's son Saad al-Hariri.
October 20 - In a report to the U.N. Security Council, the preliminary findings of the international investigation implicate high-ranking Syrian and Lebanese officials in the Hariri killing. Syria denies any role.
February 6, 2006 - Christian leader Michel Aoun, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, strikes a political alliance with the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Shi'ite group Hezbollah.
July 12 - Hezbollah captures two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, setting off a 34-day war which is eventually halted by a U.N. Security Council resolution.
November 11 - After the collapse of talks on giving Hezbollah and its allies more say in government, five pro-Syrian ministers loyal to Hezbollah and the Amal movement resign, stripping cabinet of all Shi'ite representation.
November 21 - Industry Minister and MP Pierre Gemayel, a member of the anti-Syrian coalition, is killed by gunmen.
June - Sept 2007 - Two anti-Syrian parliamentarians are killed by car bombs in Beirut.
November 23 - Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ends.
December 5 - Army chief General Michel Suleiman emerges as a consensus candidate for president, but his election is held up.
December 12 - A car bomb east of Beirut kills Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj, the army's head of operations.
May 6, 2008 - Siniora's cabinet accuses Hezbollah of operating a private telecommunications network and installing spy cameras at Beirut airport. The cabinet removes the airport security chief.
May 7 - In response, Hezbollah and its allies paralyze Beirut with roadblocks. Two days later Hezbollah takes control of mainly Muslim half of Beirut.
May 21 - After mediation, rival leaders sign a deal in Qatar to end 18 months of political conflict. It paves the way for parliament to elect Suleiman as president and for the formation of a new cabinet. Suleiman is sworn in as president on May 25.
July 11 - Leaders agree on a unity government that gives effective veto power to Hezbollah and its allies.
August 13 - On his first visit to Syria as president, Suleiman agrees with President Bashar al-Assad that their countries will establish diplomatic ties for the first time since independence.
March 1, 2009 - The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, established to try suspects in Hariri's killing, begins operations in The Hague.
April 29 - Tribunal orders release of four pro-Syrian security generals held since 2005 in connection with the killing, citing lack of sufficient evidence.
June 7 - An anti-Syrian coalition, led by Hariri, defeats Hezbollah and its main Christian ally Michel Aoun in parliamentary elections. Hariri is later appointed prime minister-designate.
November 9 - Hariri forms a new unity government that includes two ministers from Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
December 19 - Hariri holds "constructive" talks with President Assad in Damascus, ending five years of animosity between Syria and the alliance led by Hariri.
August 25, 2010 - A U.N. prosecutor investigating the Hariri assassination urges Hezbollah to hand over more of the information that Hezbollah says implicates Israel.
October 28 - Hezbollah urges all Lebanese to boycott the U.N.-backed inquiry and accuses investigators of sending information to Israel.
January 12, 2011 - Ministers from Hezbollah and its political allies resign, bringing down Hariri's government.
(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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Analysis: Lebanon heads for more turmoil after cabinet falls
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BEIRUT | Wed Jan 12, 2011 4:04pm GMT
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The collapse of Lebanon's "unity" cabinet on Wednesday deepened a political crisis and exposed the failure of Syria and Saudi Arabia to bridge local rifts over a tribunal set up to try the killers of statesman Rafik al-Hariri.
The resignation of 11 ministers from Hezbollah and the armed Shi'ite movement's allies forced the fall of an already crippled government led by the slain leader's son, Saad al-Hariri.
Lebanon could now face a prolonged political impasse and heightened sectarian tension, but analysts said they did not expect any open military confrontation pitting Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, against the Sunni Muslim followers of Hariri, who is supported by Saudi Arabia and the United States.
However, street protests, skirmishes or even a return to the bombings and political killings that followed Rafik al-Hariri's assassination in 2005 cannot be ruled out, the analysts said.
Hezbollah has no military challenger in Lebanon, where other militias disarmed after the 1975-90 civil war. More powerful than the army, it portrays itself as spearheading pan-Islamic resistance to Israel, not as a narrow sectarian group.
That image would be badly tarnished by any proven Hezbollah link to Hariri's 2005 assassination. Hezbollah's leader has said he expects the U.N.-backed tribunal to indict some of his men.
It is unclear exactly who is to blame for the breakdown of Arab mediation efforts, launched when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah met in Beirut in July -- although Hezbollah officials point the finger at Washington.
The fiasco is further evidence of Lebanon's inability to overcome its internal divisions, now centered on the tribunal.
"In truth, the first people to blame are the Lebanese politicians," said Karim Makdisi, who teaches international relations at the American University of Beirut.
"As soon as you...agree that your security fate and your actual physical fate, let alone your economic and social fate, is dependent on outside players whose interests may or may not coincide with your own, that's an utter failure of the political system that we have."
Makdisi said it was clear that the United States did not see a Saudi-Syrian deal over Lebanon as in its own interests, though it was hard to see how this fitted in with the long-stalled confirmation this month of a U.S. ambassador to Damascus.
ON THE ROCKS
"Unfortunately many Lebanese don't understand that Lebanon isn't that important for the U.S.," he added. "They wouldn't think twice about keeping Lebanon on the rocks while they deal with other regional issues that are more important for them."
The United States has strongly backed the tribunal, which is expected to issue draft indictments this month. Hezbollah, which denies any part in Hariri's killing, wants Lebanon to cease all cooperation with the court, which it calls an "Israeli project."
Saudi Arabia and Syria had sought to contain tensions in Lebanon, but never announced what their diplomacy had achieved.
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By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BEIRUT | Wed Jan 12, 2011 4:04pm GMT
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, now visiting Qatar, is seeking an international consensus on support for Lebanon and the tribunal, a senior U.S. official said, adding that she had already talked to Saudi, French and Egyptian officials, and would discuss the issue with Gulf Arab leaders meeting in Doha.
Political scientist Hilal Khashan said Washington had "vetoed" the Saudi-Syrian initiative and there was little prospect of a new government being formed quickly.
He said Hezbollah was unlikely to repeat its brief military takeover of Beirut in May 2008, sparked by government measures it viewed as hostile, but he did not rule out demonstrations.
"The phenomenon of food riots is spreading in the Arab world, so the opposition may shield itself behind popular demands for combating inflation," he said.
Lebanon's economy, particularly banking, real estate and tourism, has been booming despite political turmoil and the paralysis of a cabinet that has only met once in two months and failed to get parliament to pass last year's budget.
Louis Hobeika, economics professor at Notre Dame University, expected the government's fall to have minimal economic impact.
"Already we don't have a government, so if it resigns or stays, it's exactly the same thing," he said.
Hobeika said he did not expect the crisis to turn violent, but that any insecurity would hit investment and tourism.
Lebanon, he added, had become over-reliant on services, with industry and agriculture -- more resilient to security shocks -- now accounting for only 12.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product.
George Corm, a former finance minister, said Lebanon had lived dangerously for the past five years, but the economy had still thrived without an efficient government at the helm.
"For a few months you have a deterioration of some of the economic and financial indicators, but then things come back as usual," he said, citing the experience of turmoil after Hariri's killing and the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The latest crisis shows Lebanon's perennial vulnerability to foreign meddling, with the complicity of rival local factions.
"Lebanon is well-known for being a buffer state between the different political ambitions of regional and international powers," Corm said.
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