Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Lebanon's Druze leader backs Hezbollah
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Lebanon's Druze leader backs Hezbollah
Reuters - 32 minutes ago
Send
IM Story
Print
By Mariam Karouny
BEIRUT - Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said on Friday his group would support Hezbollah ahead of parliamentary talks on Monday to pick a new prime minister.
Jumblatt's support is likely to give the Shi'ite militant group and its allies, with 57 seats in parliament, the majority to endorse Sunni politician Omar Karami to form a new government which might exclude caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.
But two Lebanese politicians said that regional powers might exert pressure on Lebanese leaders to reach a compromise.
"I am announcing the right political stand ... by assuring the steadfastness of the group alongside Syria and the resistance," he told a news conference.
Not all of the 11 parliamentarians in Jumblatt's bloc belong to his party and some may not support his stance. Resistance is a term used to describe Hezbollah.
Hezbollah ministers and their allies resigned from Hariri's cabinet last week, days before a U.N.-backed tribunal issued a confidential draft indictment which is expected to accuse Hezbollah members of involvement in the killing of his father.
The Shi'ite group denies any role in the assassination and says the tribunal is serving U.S. and Israeli interests. Jumblatt described the tribunal as "a tool for destruction."
Two days of mediation by Qatari and Turkish ministers ended in failure on Thursday and the political deadlock has raised fears of renewed sectarian conflict in Lebanon.
Jumblatt's support is crucial to decide who forms the government, Hezbollah or Hariri, who said on Thursday he will seek the premiership. Hezbollah and its allies are determined to block his attempt.
Hariri's coalition won a majority of the 128-seat assembly in a 2009 election, but since then Jumblatt defected and said he was neutral.
Once Syria's ally, Jumblatt moved into the anti-Syrian camp after the 2005 killing, but he has re-positioned himself once again and last year sealed his reconciliation with Syria.
CONSULTATIONS
Analysts say excluding Hariri from a new government would cause resentment among the wider Sunni population in Lebanon who see him as their main leader, and possibly spark violence.
Another risk is angering Sunni jihadi groups, close to al Qaeda's thinking, who see Hezbollah as an arm of Shi'ite Iran in the country which should be opposed.
Regional countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who are worried about Iran's growing influence in the region, would likely oppose such a government and seek to isolate it.
Jumblatt urged all sides to continue dialogue and warned against excluding any party.
We'am Wahhab, a Druze politician close to Hezbollah, said he expected a government led by Karami to be formed "within days."
"The new government will have many tasks including stopping cooperation with the tribunal, restoring security and financial reforms," he told Reuters.
In Lebanon's power-sharing political system, the prime minister should be a Sunni, the president a Christian Maronite and the speaker a Shi'ite. President Michel Suleiman has called parliamentarians for consultations on Monday.
Two politicians who declined to be named said that regional countries might exert pressure on Lebanese leaders to work on a compromise, adding that Monday talks could be postponed again.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, brought down the fragile unity government of Hariri, a Sunni Muslim backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh and Damascus failed to reach a deal to contain tensions over the indictment.
Hezbollah and its allies accused Washington of sabotaging the Saudi-Syrian efforts by putting pressure on Hariri to stop supporting it. Hariri blamed Hezbollah for the talks' failure.
Jumblatt said all sides had agreed in the talks to cut Lebanon's links to the tribunal, end Lebanon's funding for it and withdraw the Lebanese judges. He said those terms would be confirmed in a policy statement by the new government.
Hezbollah said the act of issuing the indictment on Monday marked a political turning point and no amount of international pressure would force them to accept Hariri for another term.
Lebanese officials said the group and its allies will endorse Karami to form the new government.
Karami, a pro-Syrian politician from the northern city of Tripoli, has served as prime minister twice before. He resigned two weeks after Rafik al-Hariri was killed in February 2005, amid strikes and anti-Syrian protests.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
Tunisia prays for revolution 'martyrs' AFP - Saturday, January 22
UK-World Summary Reuters - 23 minutes ago
Lebanon's Druze leader backs Hezbollah Reuters - 32 minutes ago
Three dead as Albanian protesters clash with police AFP - 44 minutes ago
Protests as Tunisia mourns victims of unrest Reuters - 54 minutes ago
News Search
Top Stories
Obama vows to shift economy into overdrive
Haiti to probe Duvalier excesses: rights group
BA-Iberia hit turbulence as merger takes off
US expert panel gives nod to Alzheimer's scan
Bank of America posts heavy losses
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
Migraines don't damage brain: study
Bedbugs resistant to pesticide, study finds
Boeing to cut 1,100 jobs in C-17 program
Toshiba to build 'huge solar plant' in Bulgaria
Bank of America posts heavy losses
More Most Viewed »
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo!
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Entertainment
Photos
Yahoo! News Network
Copyright © 2011 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service |
Privacy Policy |
Community |
Intellectual Property Rights Policy |
Help
Other News on Saturday, 22 January 2011 Karzai wins Russian backing on milestone visit
BA-Iberia hit turbulence as merger takes off
Mexico to pioneer iris technology on ID cards
Haiti to probe Duvalier excesses: rights group
Three shot dead as protests erupt in Albania
|
Scandal-weary Berlusconi clings to key allies
Lebanon's Druze leader backs Hezbollah
US-TECH Summary
U.N. concerned over Afghan parliament delay
|
US expert panel gives nod to Alzheimer's scan
Lebanon's Jumblatt becomes possible kingmaker
Leadership worries hang over chipmaker AMD
Bank of America posts heavy losses
Sudan army, Darfur rebel clash kills 21: military
|
Music industry working on global copyright database
Thousands of Jordanians protest economic conditions
Time running out on Ivory Coast: AU's Odinga
|
World 'running out of Internet addresses'
Robot attends Russian school to help sick schoolboy
Lebanon's Druze leader backs Hezbollah
|
Verizon in challenge to FCC on 'net neutrality'
Ex-banker linked to WikiLeaks to be held in custody over weekend
Synaptics shares fall as PC market sales drop in Q2
One out of five cellphones sold is unlicensed copy: Nokia
Uzbekistan down Jordan to make semi-finals
In charm mode, China leader pledges US jobs
Wounded US congresswoman leaves Arizona hospital
Five Thais walk free in Cambodia border case
Knox lawyers confident ahead of appeal in Italy
Indonesia leader plays down torture of Papuans
Belgian breaks with black at Paris menswear shows
Hu's U.S. visit sets new tone but tensions remain
Bollywood star on Berlin film fest jury
Analysis: EA wins new friends with social, mobile games
|
Opera stars honour Placido Domingo at 70
Myanmar's Suu Kyi gets web access
India's top painter pulled from show over threats
Sprint seen adding subscribers, at least in the fourth quarter
|
Breakthrough after U.S. warns China on North Korea
Palestinians find freedom in the surf of Gaza
Heavy snow in Southwest China forces 79,000 to evacuate homes
Fashion for the few casts its spell in Paris
Pirates have upper hand as music industry meets
Leadership worries hang over chipmaker AMD
|
Old school and new at Berlin computer game museum
Canada's 'Igloofest' revels in music, loves cold
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Ex-banker linked to WikiLeaks to be held in custody over weekend
|
India's Reliance Industries profit rises 28%
Pakistan rupee eases on dollar demand; stocks edge up
Italy's ENI, Petrochina in tie-up, focus on Africa
Japan trade minister warns on rapid yen rise
S.Korea Dec crude imports up 10 pct yr/yr
Japan lifts economic view but risks remain
China farmers to get $15 bn subsidies amid drought
South Korean shares fall 1.7 pct on banks, autos
Hu urges US to ease high-tech export restrictions
Canada watchdog wants review of Dire Straits ruling
|
Iran nuclear talks enter final day, little to show
Lenovo, NEC in talks to combine PC businesses: sources
Obama vows to shift economy into overdrive
Blair sounds warning on Iran
Facebook raises $1.5 billion, valued at $50 billion
Iran nuclear talks enter final day, little to show
|
US Army gives soldiers a few tips on social media
Baby Doc offers regret, no apology, to Haitians
|
Obama to answer questions from YouTube users
Estonia to lend cyber-expertise to Belarus exiles
Haiti candidate warns of protests, U.S. pulls visas
|
Meyer defends lead at Tour Down Under, Ventoso wins stage 5
Google targets spam-laden websites
Oprah Winfrey to reveal "family secret"
Clijsters, Murray into Aussie Open last 16
Malaysian commandos free tanker off Somalia
Lawyers challenge 'Merchant of Death' trial
TV watchdog urges advertisers to drop "Skins"
Japan culls 10,000 chickens to contain bird flu
Cuba halts all mail deliveries to US
Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, tweets pregnancy
S.Korea navy praised over pirate rescue
Wounded U.S. congresswoman flies to Texas rehab centre
Meryl Streep is highest grossing actress in comedy
'Captain Bligh' steers Australia in flood crisis
Calif school eyes accounts of sex by 2nd graders
Soderling, Zvonareva into Australian Open 4th round
US company stops making key death penalty drug
Beijing welcomes inter-Korean talks
Fights, vodka at classic tennis press showdowns
In charm mode, China leader pledges US jobs
MSNBC and anchor Keith Olbermann abruptly part ways
Opera stars turn out to honour Placido Domingo at 70
Facebook to unveil financials, raises $1.5 billion
|
MTV's "Jersey Shore" sets another series high
Google's Page brings change and questions
|
Oprah Winfrey to reveal "family secret"
Ricky Gervais helps CNN beat Rachel Maddow show
TV watchdog urges advertisers to drop "Skins"
Roger Ebert gets prosthetic chin ahead of TV return
Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, tweets pregnancy
China to US: boost exports to trim surplus
MSNBC and anchor Keith Olbermann abruptly part ways
|
Oprah Winfrey to reveal family secret
|
Sundance debuts with Harry Belafonte documentary
|
MTV's Jersey Shore sets another series high
|
How Black Swan will reach the $100 million mark
|
TV watchdog urges advertisers to drop Skins
|
Ricky Gervais helps CNN beat Rachel Maddow show
|
Director gives Mumbai fresh face in film Dhobi Ghat
|
Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, tweets pregnancy
|
Roger Ebert gets prosthetic chin ahead of TV return
|
Street pressure mounts on Tunisia PM to go
|
Nuclear talks with Iran fail
Apple's App Store hits 10 billion downloads
New DNA experts in Knox murder appeal
Google looks to its next decade
Afghan politicians in talks on parliament deadlock
'Inconclusive' Iran nuclear talks enter final day
Cowen resigns as party leader, but remains Irish PM
|
Shiite cleric Sadr 'returns to Iran' from Iraq
Italy's Berlusconi digs in heels despite sex probe
|
Karzai proposes Wednesday opening for parliament: MP
|
Iran bars Tehran mayor from U.S. transport ceremony
|
10 militants killed in eastern Afghanistan
Saudi king arrives in Morocco after surgery in U.S.
|
Iran official supports NKorea nuclear programs
Albania opposition vows more protests
|
Protesters clash with police in Algerian capital
|
Japan's soccer team warn 'We are tougher than ever'
U.S. and Canada walkers join Iraq pilgrimage for charity
|
Australian 'inland sea' flood threatens towns
Coach Zaccheroni heralds Japan's attacking qualities
New Zealand thrash Pakistan in cricket ODI
Russian spy Chapman makes debut as TV presenter
Meyer, Goss to duel for Down Under cycling crown
Lloyd Webber wine collection sells for $5.6 mln
Philippine bomb squad training gets too realistic
German navy captain sacked over mutiny
Japanese rocket puts cargo into orbit
UK court lets surrogate mother keep baby girl
Apple's App Store hits 10 billion downloads
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights