Anger in Lebanon over Hizbullah-backed PM

Hizbullah-backed Najib Mikati was named Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate yesterday, giving the Shiite militant group increased leverage in the deeply divided country to the anger of many Sunnis.

President Michel Sleiman asked the billionaire Sunni tycoon to form a government amid a “day of rage” by fellow Sunnis who blocked roads and burned tyres in anger at his nomination, prompting Washington and France to voice concern.

“I will cooperate fully with all Lebanese to form a new government that protects their unity and sovereignty,” Mr Mikati, who is close to Syria and is considered a moderate, told reporters after his appointment.

He has previously stressed that he is eager to form an inclusive government.

“Nothing justifies the refusal of any political party to participate,” he said. “My hand is extended to all Lebanese.”

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah echoed the point in a speech played on a big screen to thousands of supporters in the eastern town of Baalbeck.

“The new government will not be a Hizbullah government nor will it be led by Hizbullah... We don’t want power,” he said.

“If you refuse to take part that means you want to monopolise power.”

Protests had turned violent in the northern Sunni bastion of Tripoli, where frenzied demonstrators torched an Al-Jazeera van and ransacked offices of a local Sunni lawmaker who backed Mikati.

Demonstrators also blocked roads in several other areas, including the capital Beirut, the southern coastal city of Sidon and the eastern Bekaa region.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties, a security official told AFP.

Mr Mikati’s appointment has angered Sunnis who see it as a bid by the Iran- and Syria-backed Hizbullah to sideline outgoing premier Saad Hariri and impose its will in Lebanon.

According to Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the country’s Prime Minister must be a Sunni.

“I am a Sunni Muslim and I refuse to allow anyone to impose their candidate for premiership on our community,” said Um Khodr, 50, who was among thousands of demonstrators in Tripoli.

“We will remain in the streets until the traitor Mikati leaves the post.”

Rana Fatfat, a 35-year-old attorney, denounced “Hizbullah’s arrogance” towards the Sunni community.

“They are taking us for idiots,” she said. “We will fight them through sit-ins and peaceful protests because we cannot match their military might.”

Schools shut down in Tripoli, Sidon and other areas amid fears of violence but the protests died down by early evening.

Hizbullah and its allies brought down the government of the Western-backed Mr Hariri on January 12 after a long-running standoff over a UN-backed probe into the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, Saad’s father.

The militant party has said it believes some of its members will be indicted by the Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which it has denounced as part of a US-Israeli conspiracy.

Both Mr Mikati and Mr Hariri urged protesters yesterday to exercise restraint.

In a televised speech, Mr Hariri thanked “every free citizen... who has denounced the attempts of hegemony over our national decisions”.

“But it is also my duty to express my total rejection of all forms of rioting and acts of law-breakers who have accompanied these demonstrations,” he said.

The United States, which continues to blacklist Hizbullah as a terrorist organisation, said a Hizbullah-controlled government would affect bilateral ties.

“A Hizbullah-controlled government would clearly have an impact on our bilateral relationship,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters.

Former colonial power France expressed “concern for the stability” of Lebanon and called for Mr Mikati to form a government without outside “interference.”

“It is essential that it is done within the framework of the Constitution... and reflects the independent and sovereign choice of the Lebanese people, without any interference and through dialogue,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.