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Pro-Syria PM set to return, seek unity
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-10 08:51
Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister who was forced to resign last week was
set to return to his job on Thursday, faced with the daunting task of forming a
government with pro-Damascus allies and anti-Syrian opponents.
More Syrian troops pulled back to eastern Lebanon, with some crossing the
border, in the start of a two-phase withdrawal, and US President Bush piled
pressure on Damascus to end the "heavy-handed" influence of Syrian intelligence
in Lebanon.
But pro-Syrian rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of people onto the
streets of Beirut and Damascus in the last two days dwarfed previous protests in
Beirut demanding the Syrians leave and which led to the ouster of Prime Minister
Omar Karami.
Lebanon's then prime minister Omar Karami speaks during an
interview with Reuters in his office in Beirut in this February 24, 2005
file photo. A majority in Lebanon's parliament nominated recently resigned
pro-Syrian prime minister Omar Karami on March 9, 2005 to form a new
government, political sources
said.[Reuters/file] | A majority of Lebanon's 128 deputies nominated Karami on Wednesday, an
outcome sure to irritate the anti-Syrian opposition who pressured him to resign
last week.
Lebanon's Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud was now bound to charge Karami
with forming a "national unity" government to lead the country to elections
scheduled for May, and was expected to make the announcement on Thursday.
Washington said that Syria should not influence the shape of the new lineup,
expected to last only two months.
"This new government should reflect the will of the Lebanese people, not of
Damascus," said State Department spokeswoman Darla Jordan. "There should be no
further attempt by the governments of Syria and Lebanon to intimidate or
sideline the Lebanese opposition in the run up to parliamentary elections."
PARLIAMENTARY POLLS
Bush said Washington and its allies were considering what steps to take if
Syria refused to fully withdraw to ensure that the parliamentary polls are free.
"We're working with friends and allies about steps forward, what to do," he
told reporters in Washington.
"In order for those elections to be free in Lebanon, the Syrians must remove
their troops as well as their intelligence services," Bush said.
Karami submitted the resignation of his government last week after large
protests in Beirut, but stayed on as caretaker.
Forming a national unity government will be a monumental challenge for the
Sunni Muslim politician. To succeed, he will have to persuade some opposition
figures to join or end up with a pro-Syrian lineup akin to that which resigned
with him.
The mainly Christian Maronite and Druze opposition wants a government made up
of people not running in the election, fearing a pro-Syrian government would
manipulate results.
Two MPs representing more than 40 opposition deputies met Lahoud, but made no
nominations and instead discussed demands.
They want Syrian-backed Lebanese security chiefs to resign and a complete
Syrian pull-out, as well as an international probe into the Feb. 14
assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, which they
blamed on Damascus.
Rival rallies touched off by the killing have revealed deep rifts among the
Lebanese over Syria's role and the future of Hizbollah, the country's last
militia.
Witnesses said dozens of army trucks carrying troops and rocket launchers and
others towing artillery guns left positions in northern Lebanon late on
Wednesday and crossed into Syria.
Lebanese soldiers stood by, ready to take over the vacated positions.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lahoud agreed on Monday to shift Syrian
troops to eastern Lebanon by March 31. The Syrian and Lebanese military would
then decide how long those troops would stay.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's envoy Terje Roed-Larsen was to travel to
the region on Thursday to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese
President Emile Lahoud.
"I am highly interested, after my envoy comes back to report to me at the end
of the discussions, on how quickly the withdrawal can take place and I hope he
will be able to come back with a full timetable," Annan said.
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