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Lebanese President proposes "salvation cabinet"

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has suggested the formation of a six-minister ``Cabinet of national salvation'' during a rare meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir as a way of resolving the country's ongoing political crisis, local paper The Daily Star reported on Wednesday.

Mr. Lahoud proposed a Cabinet of six ministers, ``each representing one of the main religious communities,'' in his meeting with Patriarch Sfeir in Bkirki centered on narrowing gap between the country's two main political camps before presidential elections scheduled for late September, the report said.

Idea opposed

Mr. Lahoud said that he believed the six-member Cabinet would allow the presidential elections scheduled for autumn to be held on time and would also help end the open-ended Opposition sit-in in downtown Beirut.

Mr. Lahoud's idea was soon slammed by pro-government officials. According to The Daily Star, Majority leader MP Saad Hariri termed the proposal as an attempt to hamper the U.N. Security Council's consideration of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, father of Saad Hariri.

Futile attempt

Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh told The Daily Star that Mr. Lahoud's offer was a futile attempt ``to fool people into thinking matters are moving forward'' on the tribunal.

Lebanon is facing its worst crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, locking in a political impasse arose from the power struggle between the anti-Syrian bloc and the pro-Syrian Opposition.

The Opposition alliance has launched an open-ended sit-in in downtown Beirut since Dec. 1, 2006 in a bid to bring down the current government. — Xinhua

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