Lebanese Government at Risk of Collapse if Tribunal indicts Hezbollah

The English language Lebanese newspaper, the Daily Star has published an interesting article summarising the current political situation in Lebanon. Read here.

As a result of the successful talks in Qatar in 2008, following 18 months of political crisis in Lebanon, Saad Hariri, Rafik Hariri's son, formed a coallition government with Hezbollah and its allies. It seems as though today, due to the UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon's indictments of Hezbollah members next month, a political and security crisis could ensue.

The Daily Star article linked above states that: "The Hizbullah warnings put Hariri in a thorny position. He either continues supporting the Tribunal, even if it accuses the group, putting him on a collision course with Hizbullah. Or he denounces the UN investigation into his father’s death, and risks losing international support and credibility."

It concludes that: “It does not seem there is a specific way out. The crisis is political. It [might] develop to a dangerous security crisis.”