Al Ahram Weekly (Free subscription) | 11/14/2009
Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun's popularity in his Mount Lebanon heartland has been the subject of much speculation in Lebanon in recent years. Did he win or lose support among Lebanon's Maronites through his alliance with the armed Shia party Hizbullah, which fought the war with Israel in 2006?
Council on Foreign Relations (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
... the Shiite Amal party, and the Free Patriotic Movement of the Maronite Christian politician Michel Aoun.Hariri is a Sunni?Hariri is the preeminent Sunni politician in Lebanon today. His coalition includes several Sunni parties and several Christian parties, and until very recently it also included the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and his party.Did Hariri's coalition win by a large...
The Irish Times (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
FIVE MONTHS after Lebanon’s parliamentary election, prime minister-designate Saad Hariri last night presented to Lebanese president Michel Suleiman the line-up for a national unity government.
Babylon & Beyond (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
... Saad Hariri spoke of his hopes for future cooperation among Lebanon’s political factions. And Michel Aoun, leader of the opposition-aligned Free Patriotic Movement, told Al-Jazeera television that he had confidence in Hariri and echoed the prime minister's words of turning the page. “The difficult period is over. A new page has been turned to strengthen security and to enhance the...
Global Security (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
... parties was how many seats to award to populist Christian leader and Hezbollah-ally General Michel Aoun.Aoun told reporters, Monday, after meeting with Mr. Hariri that he was pleased that recent snags had been ironed-out.The pro-Syrian Hezbollah, which was given key positions in the new government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, indicated earlier that it hoped for...
Ahlul Bayt News Agency (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
... Hariri's bloc and 10 from the opposition.The remaining five ministers were appointed by President Michel Sleiman, including the holders of the key interior and defense portfolios.The share-out means that no party will have veto power in the new government and that Sleiman will play the role of arbiter, a demand made by the opposition since Hariri’s first designation. "I know previous experience...
Philadelphia Inquirer (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
... decision.One of the most contentious points was a demand by a Hezbollah ally, Christian leader Michel Aoun, to retain for his bloc the Telecommunications Ministry, an important position to guard because of Hezbollah's private communications network and other security issues.A government threat in 2008 to shut it down triggered sectarian clashes in which Shiite Muslim Hezbollah fighters...
France24 (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
... terrorist group, was part of the outgoing government.A senior aide to Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun met Hariri later and relayed to him the opposition’s decision and its acceptance of the portfolios offered to them by the prime minister-designate.Hariri’s spokesman Hani Hammoud described the meeting as very positive and said: “I expect the formation of the government soon.”But...
The Earth Times Online Newspaper (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
... president five. Hariri's government-lineup proposal reportedly gives the Christian hardline leader Michel Aoun, who is a member of the opposition the Telecommunications, Tourism and Industry portfolios, as well as a state ministry and the Energy Ministry. As for the foreign affairs, Health and the Youth and Sports Ministry they were will given to House speaker Nabih Berri, who is...
New York Times (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
... politicians on the details. At the heart of the dispute were the demands of Christian leader Michel Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement holds more seats in parliament than any other Christian party. The new 30-minister cabinet is set to include 15 ministers from Hariri's coalition, 10 from the opposition including two Hezbollah ministers, and five, including...
New York Times (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
... politicians on the details. At the heart of the dispute were the demands of Christian leader Michel Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement holds more seats in parliament than any other Christian party. The new 30-minister cabinet is set to include 15 ministers from Hariri's coalition, 10 from the opposition including two Hezbollah ministers, and five, including...
Reuters (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
... politicians on the details.At the heart of the dispute were the demands of Christian leader Michel Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement holds more seats in parliament than any other Christian party.The new 30-minister cabinet is set to include 15 ministers from Hariri's coalition, 10 from the opposition including two Hezbollah ministers, and five, including...
Al Ahram Weekly (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
... at reform.According to Jean Aziz, columnist and news director for Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun's OTV channel, most of the major squabbles over portfolios have been resolved. "We could see a government in the coming hours or days. We are more optimistic and waiting for a positive answer from [Saad] Al-Hariri," he said. "The basic principles of the solution remain the same."...
Palestinian Pundit (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
A Good Article By Franklin Lamb - Lebanon Palestine Chronicle "....Simultaneous demonstrations protesting Aoun’s injunction took place inside Nahr al Bared and at Beirut’s Shatila and Burj al Barajneh camps as well as in the Ain al-Helweh, Al-Buss and Burj Shemali refugee camps down south. In Saida’s Ain al-Helweh, some Islamist groups discussed ominous and threatening...
News from TheMediaLine.org. (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
Talk to form a government in Lebanon hits yet another bump as Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun demands more portfolios. Demands by key players for more ministerial seats in a new Lebanese government has dimmed prospects to end to almost five months of deliberations on a new government in Beirut. The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun has dem...
