Four Lebanese Ministers Resign from Government

 

By Ursula Lindsey

Four ministers resigned from the Lebanese government late Monday to protest the Syria-backed extension of President Emile Lahoud's term. The resignations have caused speculation¹ that a new government will be formed soon.
Three of the four ministers that resigned - Economy Minister Marwan Hamadeh, Culture Minister Ghazi Aridi, and Minister of Refugee Affairs Abdullah Farhat - belonged to the Druze Progressive Socialist² Party of Walid Jumblatt. The fourth was an independent, Minister of the Environment Faris Boueiz.
Following the resignations Prime Minister Rafik Hariri met with President Lahoud. Mr. Hariri told reporters afterward³ that a cabinet reorganization might take place when he returned to Lebanon on September 17, after a series of visits to foreign countries.
American University in Beirut Political Science Professor Samy Baroudi says talk of a cabinet reorganization is not a surprise.
"People were expecting a new cabinet, whether under [current prime minister] Hariri or not that is a different question," he said. "But I think the four resignations accelerated the process and maybe caught the president and the Syrians a little bit off balance, because they were expecting the current cabinet to live on a little more at least, until the new term of Lahoud starts."
A constitutional amendment⁴ was passed by the Lebanese Parliament last Friday, allowing President Lahoud three more years in office. The extension of his term was favored by Syria, which has had a military presence in Lebanon since 1975 and has the final say in most political developments there.
In an attempt to stop the amendment process, the United States and France backed a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls on foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon and for no interference in the country's presidential elections.
A new Lebanese government is likely to be more pro-Syrian, notes Mr. Baroudi, because many of those who opposed the Syrian-backed amendment will now decline to join. He says international pressure on Syria may have lead Damascus to want even tighter control over Lebanese politics.
"That is how the Syrians are reacting to the growing pressure on them, by basically wanting not only a president who is loyal, but also a government that does not include any dissenting⁵ voices," he said.
Syria has been the main powerbroker in Lebanon since flooding the country with troops early in the civil war that raged from 1975 to 1990.
Ursula Lindsey, for VOA news, Cairo.

注释：
resign from 辞职
speculation 思索
accelerate加速, 促进
interference冲突, 干涉
Damascus 大马士革(叙利亚首都)
dissenting不同意的

 

1 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

2 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

3 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。