UNITED NATIONS— Hezbollah and its political allies pulled out of Lebanon’s unity government Wednesday, forcing its collapse just as members of the extremist Shia group faced indictment in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Eleven of the cabinet’s 30 ministers announced their resignation, which brought about the government’s dissolution according to a law requiring all of Lebanon’s diverse religious communities to be represented.
The collapse raised widespread fears of a resurgence of violence in the country, which emerged from a 15-year civil war in 1990, and suffered sectarian strife as recently as 2008.
It also threw into question the timetable for unveiling the pending indictments, which will come from a United Nations-backed tribunal whose chief prosecutor, Daniel Bellemare, took on the job after a long career in the Canadian legal system.
The resignations unfolded as Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri— son of the slain Lebanese leader — was meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, which have been elusive for the small Middle Eastern country amid interference from Syria and manipulation by Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
But a White House statement claiming that Hezbollah’s move demonstrated the group’s “own fear” was, arguably, more wishful thinking than a reflection of reality.
Mr. Obama has been less emphatic than former U.S. president George W. Bush in pledging unwavering support for the Hariri government as his administration has sought a rapprochement of sorts with Syria, a Hariri foe.
This has been aimed at trying to stabilize Lebanon, draw Syria away from its alliance with Iran and, in the longer term, set the stage for a broader Arab-Israeli peace process.
Some have argued the strategy has helped Syria re-establish itself as a player in Lebanese affairs.
The UN-backed tribunal was expected to seek to indict two to six Hezbollah members within“hours or days,” according to reports.
But the militant group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a Nov. 11 speech that Hezbollah would “cut off the hand” of anyone who tried to arrest its members.
Many Lebanese blame Syria for the assassination of their former prime minister, and the tribunal initially pointed the finger at its operatives. But in the past year, members of Hezbollah have emerged as prime suspects.
Within Lebanon, Hezbollah has denounced the tribunal as an“Israeli project” and urged Mr. Hariri to reject it.
Energy Minister Jibran Bassil, one of the cabinet members who resigned, said he and the others acted because Mr. Hariri had“succumbed to foreign and American pressures.”
Environment Minister Mohammed Rahhal, a member of the Future Movement and Hariri ally, suggested the prime minister would not back down now.
“They think that by piling pressure on him, that Hariri will bend,” but they are mistaken,” he told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Mr. Hariri made no public comment as he left the Oval Office for France, where he was to meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy before returning to Beirut.
He will lead a caretaker government until the country’s president meets with parliamentary blocs in a bid to agree on an acceptable new leader.
Hezbollah had only two seats in the cabinet under a November 2009 power-sharing deal that ended months of deadlock over the formation of a government following elections that year. But its political allies were given another eight, and an appointee of the president also joined the group who resigned.
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