March 14 official former MP Samir Franjieh said during an interview with Future TV that this is the first time in Lebanon’s history that one sect controls all the top 3 position , the presidency , the government and the parliament leadership.
“Hezbollah controls President Michel Suleiman’s actions through threats, controls the parliament through its ally Speaker Nabih Berri, and now Najib Mikati was appointed as a PM by Hezbollah ”
“What Hezbollah did is a coup against the country’s foundations . No one will accept that one party controls the country,” Franjieh added.
The resignation of former state minister Adnan al Sayyed who represented president Michel Suleiman caused the collapse of PM Saad Hariri’s government after all the Hezbollah backed ministers resigned
Lebanon’s power-sharing system calls for a Sunni prime minister , a Shiite parliament speaker and a Christian Maronite president.
Mikati, backed by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies , was appointed Tuesday by president Michel Suleiman as PM-designate to form and head the next cabinet , giving Hezbollah and its allies increased leverage in the country and provoking widespread protests.
“Whoever killed Rafik Hariri in 2005 doesn’t want Saad Hariri to be in power,” Hariri said Wednesday during an interview with the New York Times, in reference to Hezbollah which is backed by Iran and Syria.
“What’s happening today is that they are trying to achieve what they wanted to achieve in 2005,” Hariri added in reference to the coup that brought down his government
Mikati did confirm yesterday that he was nominated to protect Hezbollah. He told AFP on Tuesday : “My nomination by Hezbollah does not make me committed to any political stance other than protecting the Resistance.” This was a possible reference to Hezbollah’s five point plan.
Hezbollah brought down Hariri’s government on January 12 over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s ( STL) indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri in 2005 .
According to analysts the issue in Lebanon is not who is Mikati as much as how did Mikati get nominated and by whom.
Syria praises Mikati
Syria’s daily Al-Watan, which is close to the Damascus government, on Wednesday expressed its support for Mikati and said he would bring change to the region.
“Najib Mikati is the man appointed to form a new government in Lebanon … which will herald changes in political life in Lebanon and around the region.” The paper said
“More importantly, Lebanon has uncovered the grand plot and dangerous deceptions hatched by Western parties and their proxies within the country,” the paper added in reference to STL.
US cautious
The United States is reportedly reconsidering economic and military support for Lebanon after Hezbollah won a prominent role in the government
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that a Hezbollah-dominated government would affect the country’s relations with the U.S., which views the Iranian- and Syrian-backed militia as a terrorist organization. The United States has imposed sanctions against the group and its members, with whom U.S. officials are barred from meeting.
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