DOHA, Qatar, May 21 (UPI) — Lebanese opposition movements and the Western-backed government declared a deal Wednesday in Qatar to end the 18-month political conflict and elect a president.
The Shiite opposition and the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora agreed to elect Lebanese army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman as president within 24 hours, give Hezbollah veto power in the Cabinet and adopt an electoral law that reflects a sectarian power-sharing arrangement, The New York Times said.
Qatari authorities in Doha said the arrangement paves the way for a unity government with 16 Cabinet positions for the ruling majority, 11 for the opposition, including Hezbollah, and three seats nominated by Suleiman.
A new electoral law mandates all parties to “commit themselves not to use weapons or violence in order to achieve political gains under any circumstances,” however that language leaves the status of Hezbollah weapons ambiguous, the Times said.
The relationship between Lebanon and the U.N. investigation into the Feb. 14, 2005, assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 10 others was left unresolved as well, the Times said.
The talks put an end to weeks of violence rocking Lebanon. Hezbollah fighters took to the streets May 7 when the Siniora government announced its opposition to the movement's private telecommunications network.
