HOME About Blog Contact Hotel Links Donations Registration
NEWS & COMMENTARY 2008 SPEAKERS 2007 2006 2005

Monday, November 13, 2006

Lebanese minister close to president quits

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's pro-Syrian environment minister resigned on Monday, bringing to six the number of cabinet members to quit the Western-backed government after the collapse of unity talks, a source close to the minister said.

Yacoub Sarraf, who is loyal to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, tendered his resignation hours before Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was to convene his cabinet to discuss a U.N.-drafted statute for a special court to try the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Five Shi'ite Muslim ministers from Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, resigned from the cabinet on Saturday after the talks on the pro-Syrian camp's demand for a cabinet reshuffle that would give them effective veto power collapsed.

Lahoud opposed holding a cabinet session on Monday, saying any government meeting after the resignations would be unconstitutional. Siniora dismissed Lahoud's objections and said the meeting would go ahead as planned.
Google
 
Web IntelligenceSummit.org
Webmasters: Intelligence, Homeland Security & Counter-Terrorism WebRing
Copyright © IHEC 2008. All rights reserved.       E-mail info@IntelligenceSummit.org