Lebanon's president reappointed pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami yesterday, 10 days after he was forced to resign. President Emile Lahoud formally asked Karami to pick a new Cabinet a day after Parliament nominated him for the premiership. Karami said his new mission was to form a national unity government to save Lebanon from destruction. "The only way to confront all the difficulties facing the nation is a government of national unity," Karami told reporters. "If there is any procrastination in responding to this invitation, it means we're heading to destruction." He said he could not "form a government from one political color," and would start consultations with the opposition for the formation of the government on Monday. "We are extending our hand, without conditions... everything is subject to discussion," he said, warning that "those who obstruct and do not accept (to join in) will bear the responsibility for the catastrophe."
The opposition immediately rejected his overtures. Opposition spokesman and MP Antoine Andrawos said: "We need a prime minister to head a government of national unity, and he does not represent national unity, he is a party" to the conflict. Christian opposition groups also rejected Karami's designation as a "Syrian fabrication" meant to aggravate the crisis in Lebanon.
| Picked right up on that, didn't they? |