Hezbollah, allies quit Lebanon Cabinet posts

Hezbollah and allied fellow Shiite Muslims resigned from the government of Lebanon on Saturday, plunging the country deeper into political crisis and raising the threat of massive street demonstrations.

After a week of intensive talks over Hezbollah’s demand for more clout in the government, the Shiite parties said they were through negotiating with their political rivals.

“The so-called ruling party does not want any other parties to really participate in the decision-making process,” said Trad Hamadeh, the labor minister who stepped down Saturday.

The resignations of the five Shiite ministers come in the heat of a rapidly escalating political battle between Hezbollah, flush from a perceived victory over Israel in the fighting this summer, and its furious rivals, who blame the Shiite militia for dragging their country into a devastating war.

The government talks were held under stark threat from Hezbollah chief Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who vowed that if Hezbollah failed to get its way through negotiations by midNovember, he would lead his followers into the street to topple the government. The popular Shiite organization was striving to get more of its allies into the government in hopes of securing veto power over national decision-making.

Hezbollah leaders didn’t back down Saturday from the threat of unrest.

“We don’t exclude expressing our political opinion using all democratic, constitutional rights, like sit-ins and protests,” Hamadeh said.

There may still be room for compromise, however. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora refused to accept the Shiite ministers’ resignations, something widely interpreted as a signal that those in the majority in the coalition might still be willing to settle.

Many in Lebanon’s political circles believe the Shiites resigned in order to derail preparations for an international court that would try to prosecute the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Shiites quit just before the government’s scheduled discussion of the court.

In his later years, Hariri became a staunch critic of Syrian tampering in Lebanon. And many people, in Lebanon and in the international community, are convinced that Syria had a hand in the massive car bomb that killed Hariri in February 2005.

Officials in Damascus, the Syrian capital, have steadily denied any involvement, despite investigations that have implicated their nation.

A tight ally of Syria and Iran, Hezbollah has dutifully used its political clout in Lebanon to stall and oppose the international court whenever possible.

But it was running out of room to maneuver: On Friday, the United Nations submitted a draft of the legal paperwork needed to place the court in Lebanon. The government was to begin discussing whether to approve the U.N. proposal Monday -- and Hezbollah and its allies didn’t have enough seats to veto the plan.

Saad Hariri, son of the late prime minister and chief of the “anti-Syria” faction that dominates the Lebanese government, laid copies of the U.N.’s draft on his father’s grave Saturday. It was a gesture of mourning, but also a politically loaded signal of his determination to press forward with the investigation of his father’s death despite Hezbollah’s objections.

“We will not accept extortion,” said Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, a Hariri ally. He said the government would go forward with preparations for the trial.

Some observers criticized Hariri and his allies for provoking the Shiites by scheduling the talks on the U.N. proposal now.

“This is not helpful at all; there was room for dialogue,” said Farid Khazen, an independent lawmaker. “It’s like they’re accelerating the crisis.”

But Hezbollah and other Shiite officials insisted that there was no link between their walkout and the looming talks over the court.

“We don’t have any intention of creating chaos,” said Mohammed Jawad Khalife, a member of the Shiite Amal group who resigned as health minister. “If we do organize protests, it won’t be done in a way that will harm the Lebanese people’s interests.”

Still, he said flatly, “talks with the other group have reached a dead end.”

megan.stack@latimes.com

Times staff writer Stack reported from Cairo and special correspondent Rafei from Beirut.