Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman appointed telecoms tycoon Najib Mikati, who is backed by Hezbollah and its allies, as prime minister-designate on Tuesday, a presidential statement said.

Sources said Mikati, a Sunni from Tripoli, won the nomination of 68 members of parliament of the country's 128-member assembly.

Speaking after the appointment, Mikati said he would start talks to form the government on Thursday and urged all Lebanese factions to overcome their differences.

Meanwhile Saad Hariri, who was caretaker prime minister following the collapse of his cabinet earlier this month, has said on Monday that he and his group would not serve in an administration dominated by Hezbollah, and Hariri supporters in north Lebanon called for a "day of anger".

"As for the coup that Hezbollah is carrying out, it is an attempt to put the office of prime minister under the control of Wilayat al Fakih (Iran's clerical authority)", Hariri loyalist Mustafa Alloush said in the northern city of Tripoli.

Lebanon's power-sharing political system calls for the post of prime minister to be held by a Sunni and Hariri supporters said any figure who accepted a mandate from Hezbollah to form a new government would be considered a traitor.

HARIRI TRIBUNAL

At the heart of the dispute between Hezbollah and Hariri is the work of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which investigates the 2005 assassination of Former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, Saad’s father, and 22 others.

The STL, also known as the Hariri Tribunal, last week filed a sealed indictment. Details of the long-awaited indictment are not expected to be divulged for another six to ten weeks, when a pre-trial judge is to decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial.

The indictment is widely expected to accuse members of Hezbollah, which denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal is serving US and Israeli interests.

Politicians allied to Hezbollah have said the first priority of a government they form would be to cut links with the court.

Following Mikati’s appointment on Tuesday, a tribunal spokesman said that “the STL is following developments in Lebanon closely. The tribunal is a legal institution, which has a clear mandate - which we are in the process of fulfilling. We look forward to continuing to enjoy the co-operation of the Lebanese state,” as stipulated in a UN charter.

VIOLENT PROTESTS

Protests of Hariri supporters turned violent on Tuesday in the Sunni bastion of Tripoli as frenzied demonstrators wrecked an Al-Jazera van while protesting the likely appointment of a Hezbollah-backed premier.

Hariri has denounced the violence, saying in a televised speech that it was “my duty to express my total rejection of all forms of rioting and acts of law-breakers who have accompanied these demonstrations.”
Angry demonstrators set upon the vehicle, esmashing the windshield and tearing down the satellite dish before setting it on fire, witnesses said.

Demonstrators also torched the mopeds of other media outlets considered close to the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah.

Local television reported similar incidents in the capital Beirut but security officials could not confirm the reports.

COMPLICATED US-HEZBOLLAH TIES

The United States, which has designated Hezbollah a terrorist organisation, said a big role for the Shi'ite militant group could complicate Washington's ties with Lebanon and affect US aid. Hezbollah says the United States sabotaged earlier mediation talks between Hariri and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah and its allies walked out of Hariri's unity government on January 12th in a dispute over still confidential indictments by a UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 killing of statesman Rafiq Hariri, the prime minister's father.

The political deadlock has deepened sectarian divisions in Lebanon and the prospect of a government formed by Hezbollah will alarm Israel, which fought a month-long, inconclusive war with Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006.

Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said at the weekend there was a danger that an "Iranian government" would be established in Lebanon. He said Hezbollah "would no longer be merely a terrorist group operating with Iran's backing, but a terrorist group in control of the country".

NEW COALITION

Mikati, a wealthy businessman and former prime minister who sought to portray himself as a consensus figure, was briefly caretaker prime minister between April and July 2005, after Rafiq Hariri's death forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

After meeting President Michel Suleiman on Monday, Mikati said he would reach out to all parties in Lebanon if he were chosen. "I tell Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, we are all one hand for the sake of Lebanon," he told reporters.

Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who has support from the United States and Saudi Arabia, said his supporters would not serve under a prime minister chosen by the Iranian-backed Shi'ite group.

"The Future Movement ... rejects taking part in any government headed by a March 8 candidate," his office said in a statement on Monday. The March 8th bloc includes Shi'ite movements Hezbollah and Amal, along with Christian leader Michel Aoun.

Hariri said last week he would accept the outcome of the consultations for a new prime minister and would not resort to street protests.

Source: Reuters/AFP/RNW