Pro-Syrian Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami stepped down on Wednesday, raising doubts that parliamentary elections will be held before the end of next month, when the current legislature's term ends.
Karami said he had not been able to form a government that could call an election and supervise the polls. There were reports of a deadlock between the pro-Syrian leadership and the opposition, and later divisions within the pro-Syrian camp itself over Cabinet seats.
The process of calling elections and putting in place a new election law would take at least several weeks. The Lebanese Constitution says elections must be announced a month in advance. Unless a new government is appointed in the next few days, the earliest date for a vote would fall after May 31, when the parliament's term ends. The parliament, dominated by pro-Syrian members, could vote to extend its term.
PHOTO: AP
Karami announced his resignation on Wednesday evening at his Beirut home, saying he had failed to persuade both pro-Syrian and anti-Syrian members to cooperate.
"We have once again reached a dead end," he said.
But leaders of Lebanon's opposition movement say that his resignation was a delaying tactic, meant to keep power in pro-Syrian hands.
"The fact that we don't have a government and that the law is in the parliament awaiting a government says lots," said Jibran Tuweini, an opposition leader and the editor of the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar.
The resignation deepens a crisis set off by the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14, for which many Lebanese blame Syria.
Anti-Syrian sentiment grew rapidly in the weeks afterward, forcing Syria to promise to finally end the military occupation of Lebanon that began 29 years ago, in the midst of its civil war. Damascus has said it will withdraw its remaining troops and intelligence operatives by the end of this month.
Some said that the political stalemate was particularly dangerous at this time of foment.
"In the past, this sort of thing was par for the course in Lebanon's politics, but now there's a real sense of urgency," said Rami Khouri, an editor at the Daily Star.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS