Lebanon's forms new government; US refuses contact with Hizbullah minister
Lebanon-USA, Politics, 7/20/2005

Lebanon's Prime Minister, Foaud Sanyoura, has formed a new government that was agreed to by the president.

Washington has welcomed the new Lebanese government formed by Foaud Sanyoura, and the US Department Of State expressed its hope that his government will start reforms it vowed, and to implement UN security council resolution 1559 which demands dismantling the weapons of Hizbullah party.

The spokesman for the US Department Of State, Adam Early, said that Washington is looking forward to work with the new government, but he indicated that the American administration will not make contacts with Hizbullah members in the government, in remarks to the participation of the party in a Lebanese government for the first time after the ministry of energy was given to member of the Lebanese parliament for Hizbullah, Muhammad Fannish.

Early explained that the presence of effective members in what he called a terrorist organization inside the Lebanese government makes making contacts with those persons a mater forbidden by US law, as he claimed.

On Tuesday evening, the Lebanese prime minister Fouad Sanyoura officially announced the formation of his government which is composed of 24 ministers, after winning the consent of the President of the republic Emil Lahoud.

Among the main announced ministerial bags were the foreign ministry for the Shiite Fawzi Salloukh, the finance ministry for the Maronite Jihad Az'our, defense for Elias al-Murr, Information for Ghazi al-Aeidi and communications for Marwan Hamadeh.

He described the new government as integrated and harmonized expressing his happiness to have in it the first minister from Hizbullah, considering that it is the natural right of Hizbullah to have representatives included in the government.

The new Lebanese government alienated the supporters of the Christian leader Michael Aoun who leads a bloc in the parliament composed of 21 parliamentarian out of 128 seats.

The new government is considered the first government after the elections which were held in May and June this year with most of its seats were won by al-Mustaqbal ( future) trend led by Saad al-Hariri, son of the late Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri who was assassinated on February 14. This is also the first Lebanese government since the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from the Lebanese territories by the end of April this year.

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