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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanon deal in works after mass Beirut rally |
| 2006-12-11 |
| Lebanon's feuding pro- and anti-Syrian factions looked set for a compromise after an opposition rally drew protestors on to the streets of Beirut in numbers the army said were "unprecedented." An Arab League envoy was due in Beirut Monday after announcing he had received a positive response from the pro-Syrian opposition to proposals to end a political crisis which has paralysed the government and raised fears of a return to civil strife. The envoy, Mustafa Ismail of Sudan, told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television that he had received the "agreement in principle" of Shiite militant group Hizbullah, which has been spearheading the 10-day-old opposition protests, and was returning to Beirut for further talks. The opposition has been demanding that the Western-backed cabinet of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora make way for a government of national unity. Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah confirmed that the movement's leader Hassan Nasrallah had given a positive response to the Arab envoy. "Nasrallah has informed Mustafa Ismail that Hizbullah sees positively any initiative that includes the formation of a government of national unity which secures a blocking minority," Fadlallah said. "But in the end our position will be decided after being discussed among opposition leaders," he added. The opposition accuses the government of weakness and corruption, and says it no longer represents the people after the six pro-Damascus ministers submitted their resignations last month. |
| Posted by:Fred |