Jumblatt 's comments were made Tuesday during a panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, at the end of a U.S. visit where he met with top U.S. officials.

On Hezbollah's demands for the formation of a national unity government, Jumblatt said that the Shiite group and its Christian ally General Michel Aoun intended to form a new cabinet so they could control one-third of the government.

If the current government is overthrown, Jumblatt said, "the country would live in paralysis."

He said that the reason behind this demand "is to cause chaos, stop the international tribunal" and interrupt the implementation of U.N. resolutions."

The idea for the international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of Premier Rafik Hariri, was floated in March by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Hariri was killed along with 22 others in a massive truck bombing in Beirut in February 2005, sparking large anti-Syrian protests in Beirut and leading, along with international pressure, to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon that ended nearly 30 years of military presence.

About means to disarm Hezbollah, Jumblatt said that "we should persuade (Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei," adding that "our problem with Hezbollah is that it (the group) is an arc that begins in Lebanon, passes through Syria and ends in Iran."

Jumblatt emphasized the significance of establishing an international tribunal which is the only way "to deter the Syrian regime and bring the (suspected) leaders before justice, including Damascus' ruler," a reference to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"Without the international tribunal, Bashar Assad will not leave us in peace," he said.

Jumblatt accused Syria of wanting to keep the issue of the Shebaa Farms area "vague," describing it as a "Syrian trick."

Shebaa lies at the convergence of the Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli borders. Israel captured the area from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war, and it is now claimed by Lebanon with Damascus's consent.

Israeli troops have retained control of Shebaa Farms since their withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000 after two decades of occupation and has remained the flashpoint for cross-border fighting since then.

Jumblatt said that the anti-Syrian March 14 Forces had suggested during the first round of national talks earlier in March that Lebanon adopt the Swiss system where every Swiss is an army member.

Jumblatt said that Nasrallah has to choose between wanting to be "part of Lebanon and adhere to the Lebanese law … or be a state within the state, which is the current situation."

Source: Naharnet