Clashes break out in Beirut over the amnesty of Christian warlord Samir Geagea, while a new cabinet has been finally approved, writes Serene Assir This week, Lebanon finally managed to approve a new cabinet -- after the rejection of three previous draft line-ups-- while parliament passed a highly controversial amnesty for the jailed ultra- rightist Christian former warlord Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF). Included in the new cabinet line-up is Hizbullah top official Mohamed Fneish, who has been granted the Energy Ministry portfolio. While the formation of the first truly independent government in Lebanon in 30 years has been welcomed by the United States, the State Department did not lose the opportunity of denouncing the presence of a Hizbullah official in the politburo. Representatives of the State Department reiterated that Hizbullah is designated a "terrorist organisation" in the US, and have said that the US will not have any dealings with the cabinet minister in question. Hizbullah virtually swept the vote in the parliamentary election last month in areas which are considered its strongholds -- the Beqaa Valley and the South. The other main development that took place regarding the new cabinet was the exclusion of the rightist Christian former militia leader Michel Aoun, who spent 14 years in exile and returned to Lebanon in May with significant political support on the ground. Despite the fact that outgoing prime minister Najib Miqati sought to include Aoun in the new line-up, the Aoun-Hizbullah formula ultimately turned out to be impossible to put into practice. Aoun has thus been relegated to the ranks of the opposition. As for the amnesty of Aoun's one-time arch- rival, clashes broke out in Beirut between supporters of Geagea and members of the Shia Muslim group Amal, led by Nabih Berri. At least one person was killed, while several others were injured. The clashes started when men from the two sides began throwing sticks and rocks at each other. Gunfire broke out, at which point the Lebanese Army intervened, arresting men from both sides. The Lebanese parliament's vote for Geagea's amnesty came after months of fierce street, media and official debate on the issue. While LF supporters have campaigned for his release since he was found guilty in 1994 of war crimes, the campaign intensified after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri in February this year when the "national reconciliation" debate took centre-stage. Those who campaigned for his release argued that his imprisonment was politically motivated, given Syria's control over Lebanese politics at the time of his sentence. Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon helped to bring the case back into the spotlight. Supporters and sympathisers felt that it was inherently unjust to jail the former warlord for life while so many other civil war faction leaders remained free and actively participating in political life. His wife Strida Geagea, an MP, described the passing of the bill as "the end of the civil war" and as the final step towards consolidating Lebanese "national reconciliation". Other Lebanese consider the release of Geagea to be the last step in finally pardoning all warlords; one which in itself constitutes a clear statement that 15 years after the civil war ended all perpetrators of war crimes will be fully reintegrated into Lebanese politics. Geagea's release is set to take place next week. He was serving four life sentences in solitary confinement in a cell beneath the Defence Ministry in Beirut for assassinating three political rivals, including Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987. He was the only warlord to have been tried and jailed for crimes perpetrated during the 15- year-long war. The vote to release the LF leader was almost unanimous -- 100 MPs voted to that effect in the newly elected parliament's first session since the elections took place last month. In protest, 13 Hizbullah MPs walked out of the session even before the vote was held, bitter over the ties that Geagea held with Israel during the civil war. Interestingly, Aoun, welcomed Geagea's amnesty. This week the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, expressed hope that Geagea would "soon be taking part in Lebanese political life", and affirmed that there would be no new conflicts between them. In addition to this crisis, for the first time Syrian-Lebanese relations turned sour this week as hundreds of trucks carrying goods were held up at the border between the two countries and Lebanese fishermen were held temporarily when they were found fishing in Syrian waters. Although they were promptly released following a phone conversation between President Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Syria's acts have been perceived by much of Lebanon in a very negative light. Druze leader and MP, Walid Jumblatt, commented that the blockade of the trucks at the border would further worsen Syria's image in Lebanon. In an attempt to solve the political crisis, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa visited Damascus and called for a "political entente". He also said that relations between the two nations should improve, rather than deteriorate, following the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.
