Beirut: Lebanon’s newly designated prime minister said on Friday that he plans to form a government of experts and independents to deal with the country’s crippling economic crisis.
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Hassan Diab spoke to reporters following a meeting with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a day after he was asked by the president to form the country’s next government.
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Diab, a university professor and former education minister, won a majority of lawmakers’ votes after receiving backing from the powerful Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and its allies.
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Lacks Sunni support
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However, he lacks the support of major Sunni figures, including the largest Sunni party headed by Hariri.
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That is particularly problematic for Diab, who as a Sunni, lacks support from his own community. And under Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing agreement, the prime minister must be Sunni.
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Diab, however, emerged from Friday’s meeting with Hariri saying the atmosphere was “positive.”
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“As an expert and an independent, my inclination is to form a government that is truly made up of experts and independents” Diab said.
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Shortly after he spoke, scuffles broke out between Hariri’s supporters protesting on a Beirut street and Lebanese army units, underlying the tension on the ground.
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Protesters reject Diab
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The protesters briefly blocked a main highway in central Beirut, expressing their rejection of Diab.
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The protesters brought a truck full of sand and rocks to build a roadblock, at which point the army interfered to remove the protesters and the truck.
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A short scuffle ensued, with soldiers pushing and shoving angry protesters. At one point, soldiers kicked one man and another was injured, apparently by police hitting him on the head with a baton.
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“I ask them (protesters) to give us a chance to form an exceptional government” that can work on resolving the country’s many problems, accumulated over the past 30 years, Diab said.
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Diab faces a huge challenges in trying to form a consensual government that would also satisfy protesters who have been on the streets since mid-October, seeking to sweep away an entire political class they deem as corrupt.
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He also faces a mammoth task of dealing with the country’s economic and financial crisis in one of the most indebted countries of the world.
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Thorny path
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Support from the Iran-backed Hezbollah guarantees Diab a thorny path, potentially inviting criticism from Western and Gulf nations that had supported Hariri. The Shiite group is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., some Gulf Arab countries and a few Latin American nations.
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U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale, on a visit Friday to Beirut, did not directly comment on Diab’s appointment, saying only that the United States “has no role in saying who should lead” a Cabinet in Lebanon or anywhere else.
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“I’m here to encourage Lebanon’s political leaders to commit to, and undertake, meaningful, sustained reforms that can lead to a stable, prosperous and secure Lebanon,” he said after meeting with Michel Aoun.
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“It’s time to put aside partisan interests and act in the national interest, advancing reforms and forming a government that is committed to undertaking those reforms and capable of doing so.”
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Hale is the most senior foreign diplomat to visit the country since mass protests erupted in mid-October. The sustained, leaderless protests forced Hariri’s resignation within days but politicians were later unable to agree on a new prime minister. The ongoing protests and paralysis meanwhile worsened the economic crisis.
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Friendly nations, including France, have made clear they will not support the heavily indebted nation before a reform-minded Cabinet is formed.
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