Under pressure from the opposition and the street, Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister Omar Karameh produced a spectacular surprise with the announcement of his government's resignation despite the certainty of victory in a vote of no-confidence.
Karameh resigned on Monday in the face of mass protests, bringing to a head a political crisis sparked by the murder two weeks ago of his predecessor Rafiq Hariri.
The announcement was greeted with loud applause in the national assembly in Beirut, where the opposition had been seeking a vote of no-confidence in Karameh's four-month-old government.
The surprise resignation occurred on the first day of a general debate in parliament demanded by the opposition and devoted to the assassination.
This is the second time since 1992 that 70-year-old Karameh has been forced to resign in the face of pressure from the streets.
On the first occasion he had to step down in the teeth of public discontent over social and economic problems.
This time round what is at stake is nothing less than the future of the Syrian army presence in Lebanon.
The withdrawal of the 14,000 Syrian troops on Lebanese soil is being demanded both by the opposition and by the international community at large. The demand has become greater and greater following the death of Hariri.
"The Damascus regime has collapsed in Beirut," said one observer.
The announcement of Karameh's resignation came as a surprise not only to parliamentary deputies, but above all to the pro-Syrian speaker of parliament Nabih Berri.
Visibly shaken, he said in public: "I might at least have been told in advance."
Surprise was also palpable at the presidential palace, where President Emile Lahoud accepted the resignation, requesting Karameh to expedite unfinished business.
Interior Minister Soleiman Frangie was prompted to remark that he felt glad about stepping down, "because we've shown we're democrats."
Only a few days previously Karameh had made his departure conditional on an alternative government being ready to take over to avoid a constitutional void.
The opposition last week called for a transitional government to prepare spring parliamentary elections and supervise the Syrian withdrawal. The elections must take place before the end of May, according to the constitution.
The opposition also called for continuing rallies on Martyrs' Square in Beirut pending the dismissal of security officials and the Syrian withdrawal.
Karameh justified his government's resignation on the grounds of considerations of moral order.
He said he did not wish to be an obstacle to what was considered by some to be the country's welfare, an allusion to street demonstrations and opposition anger over Hariri's death.
He said he had also ceded to the wishes of Hariri's sister, parliamentary deputy Bahia Hariri, who had called for the government's resignation as a matter of priority.
Karameh said he was submitting his resignation despite the assurance of surviving a vote of no-confidence.
Following applause in the assembly, the vast crowd outside on Martyrs' Square, now unofficially renamed Liberty Square, chanted exultantly: "Your turn will come Lahoud, yours too Bashar," a reference to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria has not clearly announced its intentions yet, although both the US and the UN have urged it to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
"Technically we can withdraw our troops before the end of the year," Assad said in an interview Monday with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. "Strategically, that will happen only if we obtain serious guarantees. In other words -- peace."
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS