Skip to main content

Najib Mikati elected Lebanon Prime Minister

Najib Mikati has won as Prime Minister of Lebanon in an election held today (January 25, 2011). Lawmakers in Beirut voted on Tuesday to back Najib Mikati, the candidate Hezbollah had proposed, as a prime minister. He gained 68 votes to Hariri's 60, putting the Hezbollah-led opposition in a position to form a government. 

The nomination of Najib Mikati is seen as a victory for Hezbollah, which is trying to fend off a U.N.-backed tribunal set up in 2005 to try the killers of statesman Rafik al-Hariri and which is expected to accuse members of the Shi'ite group.

Sunni Muslims loyal to outgoing premier Saad al-Hariri, Rafik's son who has Western and Saudi backing, staged a "day of rage" to protest the appointment of Sunni billionaire Mikati, a centrist lawmaker with ties to both Saudi Arabia and Syria.


Demonstrations were called across the country, with thousands gathering in the northern city of Tripoli, and on the highway linking Beirut with the southern port city of Sidon. Hariri, the caretaker prime minister, held a national address after the protests calling for calm and rejecting violence in the public demonstrations.

Hundreds of angry protesters burned tires and blocked roads across Lebanon on Tuesday after a Hezbollah-backed politician.

Hezbollah's enhanced political strength will set off alarm bells in Washington and across the region, especially in Israel which in 2006 fought a five-week war in a failed attempt to destroy the Iran-backed movement's formidable military capacity.

Israeli officials have since threatened regularly to respond to Hezbollah's arsenal of rockets in Lebanon, upgraded with help from Syria and Iran.

Mikati, a telecoms tycoon who has portrayed himself as a consensus candidate, said he would start talks to form a government on Thursday and appealed to all Lebanese factions to overcome their differences.

"All Lebanese leaders should cooperate together to face the current challenges," he said from the presidential palace after he accepted his nomination by President Michel Suleiman.

"I reiterate my position ... that my hand is extended to all factions to take part and end division...through dialogue."

Hezbollah and its allies quit Hariri's unity government earlier this month, bringing it down after the failure of a Syrian-Saudi effort to bridge a rift over the tribunal.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah urged Mikati to form a "national partnership government."

"We have supported the nomination of ... Mikati and we call on him to form a national partnership government. The Lebanese have a chance to close ranks," he told thousands of supporters.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bangladesh Stock Market loses BDT 850 Billion

A total of Tk 85,000 crore have been channeled out through the Bangladesh Share Market within the last 30 working days, sources said. The General Index was 8918 points on December 5, 2010 and it labelled down at 6312 point on January 20, 2011.  The amount siphoned off during the last six month specially was very preplanned sources added. Total market capital was Tk 3,68,000 Crore (Tk 3680 Billion) on December 5, 2010 which now collapsed to Tk 2,83,000 Crore (Tk 2830 Billion) on January 20, 2011. Total Capital reduces of Tk 85,000 Crore (850 Billion), which amount is channeled out by the Market Makers in the last one month, sources said. 

BGB from BDR

No more BDR! Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) has officially been named after Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) today, January 23, 2011.  The renaming, though came into effect after the president signed the bill passed through parliament over a month ago, came on Sunday after prime minister Sheikh Hasina hoisted the BGB flag at its Peelkhana headquarters.  The flag has also been changed a little bit.  Bangladesh's 'first line of defence' went through a few changes, including its name and uniform, with a new law stipulating death for mutiny, apparently to absolve it of the bloody mutiny of Feb 25-26, 2009.   Parliament passed the bill, which was subsequently endorsed by the president on Dec 20 last year , bringing the changes in BDR to rid it of the stigma that would invariably be attached to its name.  But Maj Gen Mohammad Rafiqul Islam at a function on Jan 1 used his old designation as head of BDR since, according to him, 'formalities' to call him the BGB director g