Posted on 05/25/2008 2:20:53 PM PDT by kellynla
BEIRUT -- Backed by most of Lebanon's major communities and their international patrons, former army chief of staff Michel Suleiman ascended to the presidency of this volatile Mediterranean country today. The 60-year-old Maronite Christian general took the oath of office amid high hopes that he would help heal the country's festering political rift between the U.S. and Saudi-backed government and the opposition, led by Hezbollah, the Iranian and Syrian-backed Shiite militant and political movement.
Suleiman's election by lawmakers, viewed as a temporary fix to a months-long political crisis, came days after Hezbollah gunmen stormed West Beirut and subsequently won an agreement that it remain armed and have enough Cabinet seats to veto major government decisions.
Many hope, however, that Suleiman, with strong ties both to Hezbollah and the support of the Western-leaning March 14 movement, will be able to pull the country together.
Fierce bursts of celebratory gunfire and canons erupted throughout the capital after the parliamentary vote and fireworks filled the night sky.
"I call on you all, political forces and citizens, to build a Lebanon we all agree on, setting the interests of Lebanon above our individual interests," he told lawmakers and assembled dignitaries in a televised address. "We paid a dear price for our national unity. Let's preserve it."
Present in the parliamentary chamber were officials representing all the major foreign powers that have tried to resolve the crisis, including a delegation of U.S. lawmakers and the foreign ministers of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and France. All consider Lebanon part of their cultural, economic and political sphere of influence.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
ping
Under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, the country's president must be from the Maronite Christian minority.
The post of prime minister is always reserved for a Sunni Muslim, while that of parliament speaker goes to a Shia.
Good catch.
I had no idea.
Hizballah, Iran, and Syria, have they wanted from Lebanons government: its surrender of sovereignty. They have veto power over the government; one-third of the countrys’ cabinet is theirs; election changes to ensure victory in the next balloting have been achieved; they will have their candidate installed as president.
That Suleiman is a Christian is a surprise, but it should be recalled that Tariq Aziz, Saddams’ foreign minister, on trial currently in Iraq, is a Christian. Dhimmi Christians have been used for centuries by Islamists...do not get your hopes up.
In what way will the country be pulled together? It has already come under Irans’ umbrella and is conquered. For the Middle East, it is 1938 and Czechoslovakia all over again with exclamation points.
Thanks for the Maronite Christian connection, to bad I did not note it before I made my post.
Altering the Title to add this “(A Christian no less! )” is incredibly foolish, sublimely ridiculous, and makes FR look like a bunch of rubes.
ut htanks for posting the article, been waiting on news of the Lebanese meeting today.
“Altering the Title to add this (A Christian no less! ) is incredibly foolish, sublimely ridiculous, and makes FR look like a bunch of rubes?”
If you have a beef, address the management...
don’t bother me with your whining.
“Under Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, the country’s president must be from the Maronite Christian minority”
I know. I read & posted the article.
My point, was that they actually followed the rule considering
“The agreement swept under the rug what many analysts consider the underlying causes of Lebanon’s strife, including a rising Shiite population and political clout and a power sharing system that bolsters the power of community leaders over national interests.
It also failed to mention Hezbollah’s status as an armed political force sometimes overshadowing the power of the Lebanese state in its stated mission to confront Israeli and U.S. supremacy over the region.”
It was a pleasant surprise.
Glad to help :)
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