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Dubai: Fouad Siniora was reappointed Lebanon’s prime minister on Wednesday night in a move that angered the opposition, which said it was a recipe for a new conflict rather than reconciliation in the sharply divided country.
Lebanese president Michel Sulaiman yesterday appointed the incumbent prime minister to head the new government after the traditional consultations with parliamentary blocs.
Siniora was the nominee of the parliamentary majority headed by Sa’ad Al Hariri.
The opposition, however, made clear that it was not satisfied with the choice of Siniora, saying he did not reflect the spirit of national unity called for in last week’s Arab League-brokered accord reached in Qatar.
Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun appeared on Lebanese television and said the majority was “declaring war” on the opposition and that the nomination was “a recipe for conflict rather than reconciliation”.
In his first comments after the appointment, Siniora said: “I call on all of you to heal the wounds and to overcome the divisions we have experienced and not to resort to violence to solve our problems.”
But in a phone interview from Beirut, former finance minister Georges Corm told Gulf News the nomination of Siniora was divisive because of his role in the political crisis that led to the Doha agreement signed between the feuding parties last week.
“The Siniora government continued to function despite the resignation of [the Shiite] ministers… The constitution clearly stipulates that every community should be represented in government,” he said.
Majority leader Sa’ad Al Hariri clarified that the ruling coalition had chosen Siniora because he was the best man for the job and not as a challenge to the opposition.
Aoun, however, said that the opposition would not stand in the way of forming a new government.
Do you think it was right to bring Siniora back? Will the Doha agreement hold up in face of the re-instatement of Siniora? Why? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form below to send your comments.
Your comments
Fouad Siniora was the first choice of the President and of the Majority due to his vast and past experiences in the Lebanese Arena and Politics.
Saad Hariri is young and need more time to lead the next Government.
By the next Elections, he will be ready more or less for the job, one relies on the other.
Time and Patience are both needed in the Lebanese policy.
As President Michel Suleiman said it in his speech, only together, we can achieve our goals and succeed. It needs a National Unity, and a lot of Patience.
C.W.
Basle,Switzerland
Posted: May 29, 2008, 13:33
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