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Hizbollah Ministers quit Lebanese regime

Atul Aneja

Allied Shia group follows suit

DUBAI: The militant group Hizbollah and its Shia allies have mounted fresh pressure for political change by pulling out their Ministers from the Lebanese Cabinet and pushing the Government to the brink of collapse.

Five Ministers from Hizbollah and Amal, another Shia organisation, left the coalition Government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Saturday. However, Mr. Siniora has refused to accept the resignations, signalling that there might be some room for compromise.

The decision of the Shia parties to walk out came after intensive discussions that lasted for more than a week broke down. "The so-called ruling party does not want any other parties to really participate in the decision-making process," said Trad Hamadeh, who was Labour Minister till he resigned.

The Hizbollah chief, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said that his organisation would stage street demonstrations to force changes in the Government, if negotiations failed to make headway by the middle of the month. Hizbollah's deputy chief, Sheik Naim Kassem, said street protests would be the first step. The political tussle in Lebanon has wider external ramifications as the so-called March-14 forces, which drove the formation of the new Government has the support of the United States, while Iran backs Hizbollah.

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