BEIRUT, 10 December 2006 — Beirut yesterday braced for escalating opposition protests led by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah as Western leaders affirmed their support for Lebanon’s beleaguered government.
The political deadlock appeared no closer to resolution after Prime Minister Fouad Siniora vowed an attempted “coup” by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was bound to fail and urged a return to talks between Lebanon’s feuding pro- and anti-Syrian camps.
Nasrallah’s movement, backed by Iran and Syria, has spearheaded opposition protests and called a new mass rally for today after thousands have camped out on the government’s doorstep for nine days.
The opposition, which no longer recognizes the rump Cabinet after six pro-Damascus ministers resigned last month, has vowed to ramp up its protest until the government gives in to demands to make way for a national unity administration.
“Monday will be a new day in Lebanon,” the pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar newspaper quoted an opposition organizer as saying. “Institutions will be paralyzed, especially at the airport, port, and in public administrations; and the main roads will be closed,” the paper said.
Other newspapers bemoaned the deepening divide between the two sides. Both camps “are in a tight spot and each is looking for a way out,” the opposition daily As-Safir wrote, “but nothing for the moment is leading to a common understanding... which could break the vicious circle.”
The pro-Syrian Ad-Diyar newspaper said: “The opposition has been unable to notch up points and the government has refused to retreat.” The top-selling An-Nahar daily which tends to be close to the government said the opposition was “at an impasse” and was unable to move forward due to the “internal and external support offered to Siniora’s government.”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated US support for Siniora’s government, which was formed after an anti-Syrian coalition won a majority of the seats in Parliament in May-June 2005 elections. “This democratically elected government is under great pressure from a combination of extremist forces and outside forces, including Syria and Iran, who seem intent on trying to destabilize this young democracy. And it simply cannot be tolerated,” she said on Friday.
Rice spoke in Washington after talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who along with Britain and France has backed Lebanon’s government.
Pro-Western Arab states have also expressed concern over the protests. “I fear the result,” Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told French television Friday, adding that the “protests are not reasonable” and “there must be negotiations between the Lebanese government and the opposition.
Both sides have expressed interest in a proposal by the influential Maronite Archbishops’ Council which called Wednesday for the formation of an “accord government” and early elections to replace pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.
The proposal “has a lot of positive elements and is worth considering,” the Hezbollah leader said.
The ruling majority also “hailed” the archbishops’ proposal “which reflects the spirit of national unity,” and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.
Siniora’s coalition has accused the opposition of seeking to block implementation of a Cabinet decision for an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri, widely blamed on Syria.
But Nasrallah said the opposition will “insist on our demands, for the formation of a real government of national unity,” and warned “if you (ruling majority) remain stubborn... we will form an interim government that will hold early elections.”
Siniora responded yesterday that Nasrallah was “trying to work on a coup, or at least he is threatening to carry out a coup... This style does not lead to results.”
