Arab League to mediate in Lebanon crisis

Beirut, Dec 11: A Sudanese envoy will hold talks today with Lebanese leaders on an Arab League proposal to resolve Lebanon's political crisis after a show of force by the Hezbollah-led opposition.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters attended a rally in central Beirut yesterday to press demands for a national unity government that grants more power to Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah and its Christian and Muslim allies.

One security force source estimated the rally was the biggest in Lebanese history.

Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and his anti-Syrian allies have refused the opposition demands, saying Hezbollah wanted to place Lebanon under the tutelage of Syria and Iran.

Siniora again called for dialogue to end the crisis.

Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail will meet leaders of both camps after talks with Syrian officials in Damascus. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa will join him tomorrow.

Both men had separate talks in Beirut last week.

Moussa told Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper he would interrupt a visit to Washington and return to Lebanon for the talks.

''I will not judge things before I see something (concrete) in front of me,'' said Moussa, who spoke last night by telephone to Siniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of pro-Syrian Hezbollah.

Ismail told Arabiya television that all parties in Lebanon had agreed to Arab League mediation which includes a proposal on a unity government, passage of a UN-proposed international tribunal to try suspects in last year's killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and early presidential and parliamentary elections.

Tough Task

Lebanese political sources said Ismail and Moussa would face a mountain to climb to get all parties not just to agree on the various issues but also on the sequence of implementing them.

''Siniora out,'' yesterday's demonstrators chanted. ''Beirut is free,'' others yelled. Speakers told the crowd that the government was a puppet of the United States, repeating accusations that Siniora's allies had hoped Israel would crush Hezbollah in its recent war with Israel.

Holed up in his well-protected office, which is ringed by coils of razor wire, Siniora urged his opponents to end their street demonstrations and resume negotiations.

Siniora has accused Hezbollah of trying to stage a coup following its war and commentators have warned the worsening standoff could degenerate into sectarian violence in a country that is still trying to rebuild after a 1975-90 civil war.

Whereas the last civil war started out primarily as a fight between Christian and Muslim militia, the main faultline now lies between Lebanon's Sunni community and the Shi'ites.

One Shi'ite protester has been killed and several people hurt in shooting incidents, riots and clashes between supporters of both sides over the past week.

Reuters