Middle East News

Saudi foreign minister calls for Arab protection of Lebanese MPs

Sep 24, 2007, 7:49 GMT

Dubai - The Saudi foreign minister on Monday called on Arab countries to look into providing protection to Lebanese deputies after the latest killing of an member of parliament (MP) in Beirut. Prince Saud al-Faisal told the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV there were people who were killing Lebanese deputies to influence the country's presidential election process. Al-Faisal said Arab countries should take the initiative and decide on a protection for Lebanese deputies. Parliament is due to meet on September 25 to elect a successor to pro-Syria President Emile Lahoud, but the vote is unlikely to take place owing to a lack of a two-third quorum, which could only be achieved if the opposing camps reached an agreement beforehand. Ghanem's death has now reduced the number of the majority to 68 in the 128-member parliament against a Shiite-Christian opposition bloc that includes Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran. Al-Faisal called on the Lebanese to elect what he called a consensual president to avert more violence in the country. The anti-Syrian MP, Antoine Ghanem, was killed in a bomb blast on Wednesday in east Beirut. He was the eighth anti-Syrian figure to be slain since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Saudi foreign minister calls for Arab protection of Lebanese MPs

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