Excerpt
Najib Mikati, a billionaire backed by Hezbollah to become prime minister of Lebanon, promised on Wednesday to forge good relations with the United States and declared that he would not interfere with an international tribunal expected to accuse members of Hezbollah of involvement in the assassination of a former prime minister.
The remarks by Mr. Mikati in an interview were a clear signal of an independent path that he hopes to chart in a country reeling from its worst crisis in years and navigating a new alignment of power in which Syria has emerged again as power broker. Mr. Mikati faces enormous pressure to denounce the tribunal, and his supporters and opponents acknowledge that his ability to hew to that independence will probably define his tenure.
“We cannot afford to have an enemy,” he said.
Genial and engaging, Mr. Mikati, 55, is buffeted by a breathtaking array of influences that embody this Mediterranean country’s fate. Though small and relatively insignificant on its own, Lebanon has long served as an arena for battles far greater than itself, entangling the United States and France, as well as Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other nations in the region.
The tribunal is the latest incarnation of that contest. Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim movement, has sought to discredit it, accusing the United States and Israel of wielding the tribunal as a way to frame it in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. When Mr. Hariri’s son, Saad, Mr. Mikati’s predecessor, refused to denounce the tribunal, the movement withdrew its support, forcing the collapse of his 14-month-old unity government and setting off a bitter confrontation.
No comments:
Post a Comment