5:06PM
Lebanese cabinet resigns
By 
Issandr El Amrani | Lebanon
Issandr El Amrani | Lebanon
Lebanon's cabinet has resigned, preferring to forego a vote on no-confidence:
The interesting thing in my opinion is that the protestors are also trying to bring down the people who really run the country:
The Daily Star also has an interesting timeline of events following Hariri's assassination. Hopefully they'll keep it updated.
Keep an eye put for a special issue of Babelmed.net on Lebanon. I've seen some of the articles which will be put up soon and some of them are quite moving testimonies on Hariri, as well as an interesting call to Shias (by a Shia) to join the national movement and a more cultural piece on the new significance of Martyrs' Square after the assassination.
From just general reading and watching TV, it seems that the focus in the Lebanese affair is quickly moving towards Hizbullah and whether it should (or can be made to) disarm. However, I don't see many incentives provided to them for disarmament, especially when Lebanon's security remains threatened by Israel and they derive so much power from being the best-armed militia. I hope a Syrian withdrawal will be matched with security guarantees against Israel's frequent incursions into Lebanese territory and airspace -- if for instance the US could secure that from Israel for the Lebanese, it might go a long way to pressuring Hizbullah's disarmament. But there will also have to be some carrots dangled in front of Hizbullah to make it give up its weapons. The question remains, of course, whether it has enough independence from Iran and Syria to make that decision.
Meanwhile, Egypt has been quite active in trying to mediate the Lebanon-Syria crisis. The main state-owned papers like Ahram are all calling for Lebanese calm and Syrian withdrawal, which I think indicates Mubarak's position. Masri Al Youm revealed today that there was a secret visit yesterday by Baha and Saad Rafiq Al Hariri to Cairo, which is certainly interesting (although I'm not sure how to interpret it.) I think Egypt's endgame is that this does not turn into a conflict or destabilize Syria. I sense concern that the Syrians just pull out as quickly as possible, for the sake of regional stability. Some people see Saturday's announcement of constitutional reform by Mubarak as partly motivated by the events in Lebanon. I think that's a worthwhile theory, although it's difficult to measure how much of an impact that event specifically had (the Iraqi elections are something else that may have influenced it, in my opinion.) The important thing to remember is that for Mubarak, it's all about stability.
In the middle of a dramatic parliamentary session, Prime Minister Omar Karami shocked the House by suddenly announcing his government's resignation as it was defending itself against a vote of no confidence.
Karami said: "Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor to lead. May God preserve Lebanon."
The shock announcement stunned Parliament but was followed by cheers from inside the chamber and outside in Martyrs' Square as the 25,000 people who had gathered there since late Sunday night watched the debate in Parliament live on large screens.
The interesting thing in my opinion is that the protestors are also trying to bring down the people who really run the country:
Following the prime minister's announcement, the opposition also demanded the resignation of State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum, Director General of the Surete Generale Major General Jamil Sayyed, Director General of the State Security Major General Edward Mansour, Director General of the Internal Security Forces Ali Hajj, head of military intelligence Raymond Azar, commander of the presidential guard Mustafa Hamdan and head of the Monitoring Agency in the Lebanese Intelligence Bureau Ghassan Tufeili.
The Daily Star also has an interesting timeline of events following Hariri's assassination. Hopefully they'll keep it updated.
Keep an eye put for a special issue of Babelmed.net on Lebanon. I've seen some of the articles which will be put up soon and some of them are quite moving testimonies on Hariri, as well as an interesting call to Shias (by a Shia) to join the national movement and a more cultural piece on the new significance of Martyrs' Square after the assassination.
From just general reading and watching TV, it seems that the focus in the Lebanese affair is quickly moving towards Hizbullah and whether it should (or can be made to) disarm. However, I don't see many incentives provided to them for disarmament, especially when Lebanon's security remains threatened by Israel and they derive so much power from being the best-armed militia. I hope a Syrian withdrawal will be matched with security guarantees against Israel's frequent incursions into Lebanese territory and airspace -- if for instance the US could secure that from Israel for the Lebanese, it might go a long way to pressuring Hizbullah's disarmament. But there will also have to be some carrots dangled in front of Hizbullah to make it give up its weapons. The question remains, of course, whether it has enough independence from Iran and Syria to make that decision.
Meanwhile, Egypt has been quite active in trying to mediate the Lebanon-Syria crisis. The main state-owned papers like Ahram are all calling for Lebanese calm and Syrian withdrawal, which I think indicates Mubarak's position. Masri Al Youm revealed today that there was a secret visit yesterday by Baha and Saad Rafiq Al Hariri to Cairo, which is certainly interesting (although I'm not sure how to interpret it.) I think Egypt's endgame is that this does not turn into a conflict or destabilize Syria. I sense concern that the Syrians just pull out as quickly as possible, for the sake of regional stability. Some people see Saturday's announcement of constitutional reform by Mubarak as partly motivated by the events in Lebanon. I think that's a worthwhile theory, although it's difficult to measure how much of an impact that event specifically had (the Iraqi elections are something else that may have influenced it, in my opinion.) The important thing to remember is that for Mubarak, it's all about stability.
Reader Comments (5)
Speaking of Mubarak's-style stability, the bebate in the Egy[ptain parliment does not node well for any meaningful change in the selection of the president. Already it is being said that to ensure the seriousness of the presidential candidates, a certain number of "elected" parlimentarians and municpal official must approve the nomination of the candidate. This of course means that Mubarak will pick his opponents. If this was to indeed come about, the whole thing will be a joke and Bush will have to speak up, again!!
I am an Egyptain who loves Lebanon. I just hope things will turn out for the best for this most beautiful country and its most free peole in the whole Arab/middle east region.
Sam: Whom are you referring to as the far right and BERLESCONI OF Lebanon?
MM since I am already censored here and my comments are deleted. I dont know If my opinion is welcomed. Berlusconi of Lebanon was hariri, now that he is dead he is ofcourse a saint and he did only good things, while the guy practically riped off the countryu and sunked us into a 40 billion dollars debt fo what? rebuilding the cafes and the pubs at the center of beirut? what about the rift between rich and poor that his policies created? whata bout the destroyed middel class? Of course I am against the bastards who killed him no matter who they are... but I have no good word for him. on the other hand, war criminals like Samir Ja3ja3, Michel Aoun and Walid Joumblat are only mobilizing their own sectarian groups, there is no national unity in Lebanon, its a myth. we never had one.
Sam - your comments are not being censored. I frequently have to delete large quantities of spam and occasionally I accidentally delete real comments. Some comments also go into a moderation queue (for instance if they have more than a certain number of links, which is a sign of spam) and I only have time to check it once a day.
Sorry about that.
ok Issander, sorry for jumping into conclusions.
Sam